[IsraelTimes] A new survey by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) reveals a deepening rift between Israeli and American Jews over Israel’s war in Gaza and its broader security policy, including the recent campaign against Iran’s nuclear program.
According to JPPI’s “Voice of the Jewish People” Index, 45% of American Jews say Israel is too aggressive in Gaza. Among those identifying as “very liberal,” 44% agree with accusations that Israel is committing genocide — an assertion widely rejected in Israel. In contrast, 70% of Jewish Trump voters say Israel is not aggressive enough.
While 54% of Israeli Jews believe Israel is winning the Gaza war, only a third of US Jews agree, the report says. Similarly, Israelis overwhelmingly rate the Iran operation as a success, while just 7% of American Jews gave it the highest possible rating.
Trust in US President Donald Trump on Israel-related matters has increased among American Jews, with 57% now expressing at least some trust, including 35% of those who voted for former vice president Kamala Harris in November, the survey found.
In New York, nearly 70% of American Jews oppose the candidacy of Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, and 61% view him as both anti-Israel and antisemitic, the survey finds.
“The survey shows that even among American Jews – who are generally predisposed to support Israel – the country is failing to explain and justify its positions effectively,” says JPPI director general Dr. Shuki Friedman.
[IsraelTimes] Those called back include beleaguered ambassador, as National Security Council raises travel warning due to belief that terror groups have increased efforts to harm Israelis.
“We are emphasizing this travel warning given our understanding that terrorist organizations (the Iranians, Hamas, Hezbollah and Global Jihad) are increasing their efforts to harm Israel," the NSC said in a statement.
The NSC warned of possible attempts to target Israeli and Jewish individuals in the UAE, especially around Jewish holidays and Shabbat.
There was no immediate comment from the UAE’s foreign ministry.
The Kan public broadcaster said those ordered to leave included Israel’s Ambassador to the UAE Yossi Shelley, who is said to be at risk of losing his post due to complaints of misconduct.
Israel is concerned about retaliatory attacks following its recent military operation against Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... and as it faces mounting international pressure over the humanitarian crisis in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip.
In March, the UAE sentenced three people to death for the murder of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who was killed in November in the Gulf country. Such crimes are rare in the UAE, which is largely viewed as one of the safest places in the Middle East.
The UAE’s Israeli and Jewish community has grown more visible since 2020, when the UAE became the most prominent Arab state in 30 years to establish formal ties with Israel under a US-brokered agreement dubbed the Abraham Accords.
[TWZ] Obtaining hands-on experience in how to employ FPV drones as weapons in Ukraine could radically speed up the learning curve for Mexican cartels.
First-person view (FPV) attack drones have been so successful in Ukraine that now Mexican drug cartels are reportedly seeking first-hand lessons on best practices. Intelligence agencies in Kyiv and Mexico City are investigating whether cartel members – fighting on behalf of Ukraine – are doing so to learn more about how to operate FPVs against rivals, according to Intelligence Online, a French investigative news outlet. Learning how to operate and maintain FPV drones from the world’s leading practitioners could drastically speed up the learning curve for cartels, which are in the early stages of using these weapons.
The investigation centers on cartel members who allegedly joined Ukraine’s International Legion, created at the beginning of the all-out war to allow foreigners to fight against Russia.
Mexico’s National Intelligence Center (CNI) recently sent a memo to Ukraine’s SBU counter-intelligence service warning that some Mexican volunteers joining the International Legion were doing so to bring home working knowledge of how best to operate FPVs, the publication claimed.
As a result, SBU and the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR) “launched an investigation … of several Spanish-speakers who had joined units attached to the second squadron of the GUR’s International Legion, including the Tactical Group Ethos, a semi-clandestine unit operating in the Donbas and Kharkiv oblasts.”
Intelligence Online also claimed that investigators are looking into whether members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have joined the International Legion for similar purposes.
We reached out to SBU, GUR, and CNI for comment and will update this story with any pertinent information provided.
[IsraelTimes] Police allege Giovanni Laulu, 21, was one of three masked men who set fire to Adass Israel Synagogue, injuring worshiper preparing for morning service
A suspected arsonist accused of destroying a Melbourne synagogue appeared in court Thursday, seven months after the crime shocked the nation and triggered a large-scale investigation.
Giovanni Laulu, 21, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court after his arrest at a Melbourne home on Wednesday.
Police allege Laulu is one of three masked men who spread a liquid accelerant around the interior of the Adass Israel Synagogue, then set it alight before dawn on December 6. A worshiper preparing for morning prayers suffered minor burns.
Laulu is the first suspect to be caught, but police have foreshadowed more arrests. Police suspect there are also accomplices who planned the attack from overseas.
Laulu was charged with arson, reckless conduct, endangering life, and car theft.
Laulu confirmed his name but otherwise remained silent during the brief court appearance.
His lawyer told Magistrate Brett Sonnett this was not Laulu’s first time in prison. Laulu was then remanded in jug and will appear in court next on August 6.
Prosecutors sought 12 weeks to gather evidence against Laulu and said 11 cellphones need to be analyzed. Sonnett gave the prosecution until October 22 to present its case to Laulu’s lawyers.
Federal and state police, plus Australia’s main domestic spy agency, have been investigating the crime, which is suspected to be politically motivated. Police say more than 220 law enforcement officers have devoted more than 50,000 hours to the investigation.
A wave of antisemitic attacks has roiled Australia since the October 7, 2023, Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... massacre in Israel triggered the war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... . The synagogue attack is the only incident to have been classified as an act of terrorism, a designation that increases the resources available to the investigation.
The federal government has committed 30 million Australian dollars ($20 million) to rebuild the synagogue.
Two weeks ago, another 20-year-old man was charged with stealing the car used in the synagogue attack, but he has not been accused of being one of the masked men that ignited the synagogue.
The incident is being investigated as a terrorist attack. Police said this week that they could not rule out further arrests and believed that the attack had been orchestrated from abroad. A string of antisemitic attacks in Sydney last year were the work of a criminal gang, police said.
The early-morning fire tore through the synagogue, causing damage to the $20m building and devastating sacred texts.
The individuals arrived at the scene in a blue VW Golf, which police previously alleged was a “communal crime car” used in a series of unrelated attacks, including at the Lux nightclub in South Yarra.
According to Mr Laulu’s charge sheets, police alleged he stole the $40,000 vehicle on December 5 from an address in Tarneit.
[IsraelTimes] Slovenia says it will ban all weapons trade with Israel over the war in Gaza, in what it says is a first by an EU nation.
Slovenia’s government has frequently criticized Israel over the conflict, and last year moved to recognize a Palestinian state as part of efforts to end the fighting in Gaza as soon as possible.
“Slovenia is the first European country to ban the import, export and transit of weapons to and from Israel,” the government says in a statement. It says it is moving ahead “independently” because the bloc is “unable to adopt concrete measures… due to internal disagreements and disunity.”
In response, an unnamed Israeli official tells Ynet: “There is no defense procurement in Slovenia. We don’t buy so much as a pin from them. They simply decided on an embargo for the sake of the media, because they can, but it’s completely meaningless.”
The Slovenian statement says that amid the devastating war in Gaza, where “people… are dying because humanitarian aid is systematically denied them,” it is the “duty of every responsible state to take action, even if it means taking a step ahead of others.”
It adds that the government has not issued any permits for the export of military weapons and equipment to Israel since October 2023 because of the conflict.
Early in July, Slovenia — also in an EU first — banned two far-right Israeli ministers from entering the country. It declared both Israelis “persona non grata,” accusing them of inciting “extreme violence and serious violations of the human rights of Palestinians” with “their genocidal statements.”
In June 2024, Slovenia’s parliament passed a decree recognizing Palestinian statehood, following in the steps of Ireland, Norway and Spain, in moves partly fueled by condemnation of Israel’s offensive in Gaza after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel.
[IsraelTimes] Attackers threw grenades, fired machines guns at Jo Goldenberg restaurant, killing six and injuring 22; four of the alleged terrorists likely to be tried in absentia
A terrorism court in La Belle France has ordered six suspected Paleostinian murderous Moslems to go on trial for an attack 43 years ago at a Jewish restaurant and deli in Gay Paree that killed six people, a lawyer said Thursday.
Attackers threw grenades and then sprayed machine-gun fire into the Jo Goldenberg restaurant on August 9, 1982, in the deadliest antisemitic attack in La Belle France since World War II, which also injured 22 people. Two of those killed were Americans.
Though four of the suspects remain abroad and would likely be tried in absentia, investigating judges have issued an order for a trial, which could begin early next year, said David Père, who represents victims. The Gay Paree-based court does not publish its orders publicly and generally does not respond to journalists.
The suspects are believed to have been members of the Paleostinian terrorist group Abu Nidal at the time of the attack.
Also known as Fatah: The Revolutionary Council, it splintered off from the main group in 1974, then went on a killing spree in 20 countries, killing over 300 and injuring over 650. France made a secret agreement not to pursue them if they gave up attacking on French soil, but with Mr. Abu Nidal so long dead and the French authorities having got their hands on two of the miscreants, they’ve clearly decided to reward themselves with a trial.
The alleged ringleader, Mohammed Souhair al-Abassi, also known as Amjad Atta, is in Jordan, where authorities have refused to extradite him. Three other suspects are believed to be in either the Paleostinian territories or Jordan: Mahmoud Khader Abed Adra, also known as Hicham Harb; Nabil Hassan Mahmoud Othmane, also known as Ibrahim Hamza; and Nizar Tawfiq Moussa Hamada, also known as Hani.
One of the defendants, Walid Abdulrahman Abu Zayed, had emigrated with his family to Norway and was extradited to La Belle France in 2020. The sixth defendant, Hazza Taha, was detained more recently in Gay Paree.
Père, who represents dozens of relatives of the victims and one direct survivor, said the trial is "historic" for them. "For them, this is not about the past but the present. It’s a trial they intend to follow day by day," Père told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named.
The one survivor represented by Père was not injured in the attack but remains traumatized by it. "He wants to see the suspects and try to understand," Père said.
The attackers murdered six people — Mohammed Bennemou, André Hezkia Niego, Georges Demeter, Denise Guerche Rossignol and two Americans, Ann Van Zanten and Grace Cutler.
Jo Goldenberg, the owner of the Jewish restaurant and deli, recalled the horror of the lunchtime attack during an interview in 2002.
"They fired on everyone who was eating lunch — everyone," Goldenberg said at the time. The place, which has since closed, was a centerpiece tourist attraction in the Marais neighborhood.
French authorities announced in 2015 — nearly 33 years after the attack — that international arrest warrants had been issued for the suspects.
The Abu Nidal faction, named after its leader, is considered responsible for nearly two dozen attacks that left at least 275 people dead, including assaults on El Al Israel Airlines ticket counters at the Rome and Vienna airports in 1985, in which 18 people were killed.
The notorious Abu Nidal himself was found dead in his Baghdad apartment in August 2002. Iraqi authorities said Abu Nidal, whose real name is Sabri al-Banna, died by suicide.
[IsraelTimes] US President Donald Trump ...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US... threatened Thursday that Canada’s decision to recognize a Paleostinian state could impede ongoing, intensive talks over a US-Canadian trade deal.
"Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Paleostine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh’ Canada!!!" Trump wrote on Thursday, in one of several Truth Social posts on trade.
The post appeared to be a departure from remarks he made on recent decisions by the United Kingdom and La Belle France to recognize a Paleostinian state. In those cases, he noted that he disagreed with the moves, which would "reward" Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... , but that he would not seek to influence the decisions.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Wednesday that his country would recognize a Paleostinian state in September, predicated on the West Bank-based Paleostinian Authority undergoing substantial reforms. He said the Israel-Hamas war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... and the humanitarian crisis in the enclave had motivated the decision.
"Canada condemns the fact that the Israeli government has allowed a catastrophe to unfold in Gaza," he said.
Trump has echoed Israeli criticism of recognizing a Paleostinian state. But his post on Thursday seemed to be his first signal of retribution against countries that take the step.
Trump is a fan of using trade to influence other countries’ policies. He instituted a range of tariffs across a broad swath of countries earlier this year, and is currently negotiating deals with a host of trading partners seeking to avoid barriers to entry to the US market.
Trump is currently penalizing Brazil in a number of ways, including a 50% tariff, for the corruption case against former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Deals with the EU and Britannia had been announced prior to their Paleostine announcements. But talks with Canada are ongoing, and Trump — who has also mused about annexing the country — is set to impose a 35% tariff on all Canadian goods not covered by a preexisting trade agreement if the countries do not reach a deal by a Friday deadline.
Canada is the second-largest US trading partner after Mexico, and the largest buyer of US exports. Reaching a deal is seen as a top priority in Ottawa.
Continued on Page 47
[IsraelTimes] US doesn’t disclose who will be impacted by the sanctions, but ramifications of decision appear limited as Palestinian officials already need waiver to enter US
The United States announced Thursday that it will deny visas to Paleostinian Authority officials, saying that the move was triggered by Ramallah’s efforts to prosecute Israel in global forums, which placed the PA in violation of US law.
A statement from the State Department on the move did not specify who was being targeted, only saying it would "deny visas" to "members" of the Paleostine Liberation Organization and "officials" from the Paleostinian Authority.
The ramifications of the announcement may be limited, as Paleostinian officials are already required to receive waivers from the US in order to enter the country on official government business, according to Congressional legislation, which also allows PA officials to visit and work at the UN as part of Washington’s international obligations.
While the sanctions could be used to bar PA officials from attending the UN General Assembly in September when a growing number of Western countries have announced that they will unilaterally recognize a Paleostinian state, such visa denials would come under significant scrutiny if leaders of countries that are far more adversarial to the US are allowed to attend the confab in New York.
The announcement appears to be the first relatively punitive step that Washington has taken in response to La Belle France, the UK and Canada advancing Paleostine recognition plans — a move encouraged by Ramallah. The Trump administration, for now, appears to prefer punishing Ramallah directly, as going after more powerful Western governments may be more difficult. However,
a clean conscience makes a soft pillow... Trump did float blowing up trade talks with Canada over its decision.
The State Department announcement said that the PA and PLO are in violation of two separate US laws due to actions taken to "internationalize" the conflict in bodies such as the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The ICC has issued arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity, while Israel is being charged with committing genocide in the ICJ, which is also adjudicating claims that Israel’s policies in the territories amount to apartheid.
The US has traditionally argued that a Paleostinian state should only be formed as a result of negotiations with Israel — something successive Israeli governments for over a decade have not been interested in. PA President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase....> has also been accused of rejecting or stonewalling earlier negotiations.
The denial of visas also appeared to be the most limited of four steps that the Trump administration had at its disposal if the PA was found in violation of 2002 legislation that requires the president to assess whether Paleostinian entities are fulfilling their commitments to combat terrorism and support peace with Israel.
The more forceful option that the US could have taken was to designate the PA as a foreign terrorist organization, which would have exposed Ramallah to crippling sanctions.
Among other reasons cited by the State Department for the visa denials were claims that the PA continues to support terrorism and provides payments to Paleostinian forces of Evil and their families.
But Abbas signed a decree in February canceling legislation that conditioned welfare payments on the length of one’s prison sentence, with over 1,000 Paleostinian security prisoners reporting that they were no longer receiving stipends. The PA even invited the US to come to Ramallah and certify that the Paleostinians comply with congressional legislation that barred such payments. Two months have passed since the invitation was extended, and the US has yet to send a delegation.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott later clarified that the decision to announce Wednesday’s sanctions was based on a biannual review of the PA’s compliance with the 2002 legislation, which was completed in January 2025 — a month before Abbas announced his reform of what critics have dubbed "pay-to-slay."
Pigott also noted that the Biden administration was the one that completed the most recent report that found the PA out of compliance with the 2002 legislation but decided against taking any punitive measures against Ramallah — a decision that the Trump administration reversed on Wednesday.
Pressed on whether the US would also take steps against Israel, Piggot declined to comment on the matter. Unlike with the PA and PLO, there is no US law that provides the president with the tools to sanction Israel over such violations.
Still, the State Department announcement said, "It is in our national security interests to impose consequences and hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments and undermining the prospects for peace."
[IsraelTimes] The IDF’s 98th Division has been withdrawn from the Gaza Strip following several months of operations in Khan Younis and Gaza City’s Shejaiya and Zeitoun neighborhoods.
The division, an elite formation of thousands of soldiers in paratrooper and commando units, was deployed to southern Gaza’s Khan Younis in May, before briefly being taken out of the Strip during the war with Iran in June. It was then redeployed to Gaza City.
The military says the division has completed its operations in northern Gaza “in accordance with operational planning.” The forces are now preparing for additional tasks, the IDF says.
The move leaves four divisions, constituting tens of thousands of troops, still inside Gaza.
Continued on Page 47
[IsraelTimes] Channel 12 reports on Israel’s alleged red lines in Gaza ceasefire negotiations:
Israel agrees to 500 trucks of aid to enter daily in a potential truce, but insists that the highly controversial US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation must continue to be the platform for distribution, as it believes this limits Hamas’s ability to hoard aid.
Terrorists from Hamas’s elite Nukhba forces will not be freed in exchange for hostages.
Israeli forces will relocate to a perimeter 800 meters from the border, inside Gaza. At some points, the perimeter will stand at 1,200 meters.
The network reports that with a deal seeming less likely in recent days, Israel is reviewing the possibility of moving to operate in areas it has avoided so far, where it believes hostages are being held. This would endanger the hostages’ lives.
Continued on Page 47
[IsraelTimes] If actualized, stance would mark a major shift for Jerusalem, which had crafted phased framework, though the language of the statement does not specify how or when war would end
As negotiations with Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... stall, Israel and the United States are now aligned on aiming for a comprehensive framework in place of a partial ceasefire and hostage-release deal, a senior Israeli official told news hounds during a Thursday briefing.
"There will be no more partial deals," the official was quoted as saying, explaining that Israel and the US now concur on the need to "shift from a framework for the release of some of the hostages to a framework for the release of all of the hostages, the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization of the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip."
"At the same time," the source was quoted as saying, "Israel and the US will work to increase the humanitarian aid, while continuing the fighting in Gaza."
The somewhat ambiguous language of the comment appeared to leave open the issue of specifically how or when the war in Gaza would end.
If actualized, the new stance would mark a major shift for Israel, which came up with the phased hostage deal framework during the first year of the war, as it enabled Israel to secure the release of some of its hostages, while maintaining the ability to resume the war — something Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needed to maintain his coalition, as far-right partners threatened to collapse the government if Israel agreed to a permanent ceasefire.
Hamas, for its part, has offered the release of all remaining hostages in exchange for an end to the war, while rejecting calls to disarm. Netanyahu has also argued that prematurely ending the war would leave Hamas in power and able to regroup.
The potential shift in Israel’s approach came amid the latest impasse in hostage talks, which have largely stalled since Israel and the US pulled their negotiators from Doha last week due to frustration with Hamas’s response to the most recent phased ceasefire proposal.
In exchange for forgoing its demand for an upfront Israeli commitment to end the war, Hamas sought to limit the scope of Israel’s presence in Gaza during the 60-day truce under discussion, while also increasing the number of prisoners it wants in exchange for the 28 of the 50 remaining hostages who will be released through the agreement — conditions that were rejected by Israel.
On Thursday, an Arab diplomat and a second source involved in mediation efforts told The Times of Israel that Hamas negotiators in Doha have recently told mediators that they are uninterested in even resuming ceasefire negotiations until the hunger crisis in Gaza subsides.
Hours later, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry reported that two more Paleostinians had died over the past day due to complications from malnutrition, bringing the total figure since the start of the war to 159. Ninety of those deaths were children and roughly half of the total deaths took place in the past month alone, according to Gazook authorities.
Tensions were also at peak level between Hamas and Arab negotiating countries Egypt and Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... . Hamas’s lead negotiator Khalil al-Hayya accused Egypt last week of complicity in the humanitarian crisis, infuriating Cairo. The terror group is also angry at Qatar for signing onto a declaration at the UN earlier this week that called for Hamas to disarm and step down from power, the two sources say.
Even though they left Doha, Israeli negotiators still submitted to mediators on Tuesday night their response to the amendments requested by Hamas to the latest ceasefire proposal last week. The Israeli response rebuffed Hamas’s demand that the IDF withdraw from population centers along the southern Gaza border, the sources said.
According to the senior Israeli official briefing news hounds on Thursday, there has been a "breakdown in contacts" with Hamas negotiators. "Hamas has cut off communication... There is no one to talk to on the other side. This is also [US special envoy Steve] Witkoff’s understanding," said the official, who briefed Israeli news hounds on condition of anonymity.
The official also noted that Jerusalem and Washington will work to increase humanitarian aid while continuing the fighting in Gaza.
[IsraelTimes] Terror group claims footage taken before contact was lost with his captors; family only approves publication of still from video, demands meeting with security chiefs, Netanyahu
The Paleostinian Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... terror group on Thursday published a video of hostage Rom Braslavski, whom they are holding captive in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip.
The terror group claimed that the six-minute video was recorded days before it lost contact with the captors holding Braslavski, and alleged that the hostage’s fate was unknown.
Israeli media do not air such video clips unless asked to by the hostages’ families. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum requested that media outlets only publish a still from the video approved by Braslavski’s family.
The still shows Braslavski, 21, looking pale and thin, lying on the ground in an unknown location in Gaza.
PIJ has made statements and claims in the past that have not always proven reliable. Israel has accused the group, like Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... , of waging psychological warfare. PIJ released a video of Braslavski in April, likely scripted by his captors, in which he said he was experiencing "hell" and displayed signs of illness.
In a statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, Braslavski’s family said they were furious and demanded a joint meeting with security chiefs and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss his fate.
"People are speaking a lot about what is happening in Gaza, about the hunger, and I ask all those who are speaking about hunger: Did you see our Rom? He doesn’t receive food, and he doesn’t receive medicine. He is simply forgotten there," the statement read.
"They managed to break Rom. Even the most resilient person has their breaking point," the statement read.
"They broke my boy. I want him home now," Braslavski’s mother, Tami, told the Ynet news site. "I know how many beatings he is taking. I know because Rom doesn’t cry. If he cries, it is because they are abusing him. Look at him. Thin, limp, crying. All his bones are out."
"Don’t cry over the children in Gaza. Cry for Rom. Have compassion for the hostages," she said.
Thursday’s video of Braslavski was the second released by PIJ, 664 days since the off-duty soldier, a resident of Jerusalem, was kidnapped from the Nova music festival, where he was working as a security guard. His family has shared testimonies from partygoers that Braslavski rescued them amid the onslaught.
Braslavski is one of the 49 hostages kidnapped during the October 7, 2023, massacre, still held captive in Gaza. At least 20 of the captives are thought to be alive. Hamas is also holding the body of a soldier who was killed in 2014.
[IsraelTimes] New policy applies to soldiers with 30% or higher state-recognized psychological disability; officials deny link to recent rise in suicides
[IsraelTimes] The IDF says it has completed sending out an additional 54,000 draft orders to ultra-Orthodox men who are eligible for military service and have not yet enlisted.
The orders, which constitute the first stage in the screening and evaluation process that the army carries out for recruits ahead of enlistment in the military in the coming year, come after a landmark High Court ruling in June 2024 that said there was no longer any legal framework allowing the state to refrain from drafting Haredi yeshiva students into military service.
Currently, approximately 80,000 Haredi men between the ages of 18 and 24 are eligible for military service and have not enlisted.
Between July 2024 and May 2025, the IDF issued 24,000 draft orders to Haredi men up to the age of 28, though only a small percentage were actually drafted.
This past month, the IDF says it sent out another 54,000 orders. This means that all Haredi men who previously had exemptions for being yeshiva students have now received a conscription order.
In addition to those orders, the IDF is also sending out first draft orders to all Israelis who turn 16.5, without exempting Haredim as it previously did. (Soldiers only join the military from age 18, but the recruitment process begins earlier.)
“The IDF will continue to operate in accordance with the law and the directives of the political echelon and will do everything in its power to expand recruitment and adapt the conditions for the Haredi population serving, while preserving their way of life,” the military adds.
The issue of Haredi exemptions from the army is particularly volatile in Israel amid the ongoing war, with the burden of service falling on the secular and national religious communities. The army has also stated that it is facing a manpower shortage and currently needs some 12,000 new soldiers — 7,000 of whom would be combat troops.
Continued on Page 47
#1
During Vietnam you had to be in college to get out of the draft, because that meant your life was worth something. Send the worthless hillbillies to die in the jungle. What's the deal with this exemption here?
For real hilarity, look up McNamara's morons!
The US ran out of good troops and had to start admitting under 85 IQ soldiers to make up the shortfall.
[IsraelTimes] Israel says it is delivering “urgent” humanitarian aid to the Druze community in the southern Syrian province of Sweida, following sectarian clashes in the region earlier this month.
The aid package includes NIS 2 million ($580,000) worth of food, medical supplies, and first aid kits for “areas directly impacted by the violent attacks,” according to the Foreign Ministry.
Israel’s Health Ministry previously delivered aid to the Druze on July 20. The Foreign Ministry says it also sent an aid package in March.
[IsraelTimes] Islamic Republic has increased convictions and executions of minorities, including Iranian Jews, a report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom finds
Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... is increasing its efforts to carry out attacks against Jewish targets in Europe, as well as ramping up its persecution of minority religions, including Jews, within the Islamic Theocratic Republic, according to a report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
Following the 12-day military conflict in June between Iran and the United States and Israel, Iranian authorities have increased arrests, executions, and discriminatory policies against minorities like Baha’is, Jews, Christians, Sufis, and Sunnis and other non-Shi’a Moslem groups, according to the report, released Tuesday.
The government is also engaging local proxies in Europe, such as the Foxtrot and Rumba gangs in Sweden, and other criminal networks in the United Kingdom, Germany, La Belle France, and Belgium, to target Jews and Jewish sites in those countries, it said.
"The government of Iran remains an egregious violator of freedom of religion or belief," the report found.
Religious persecution inside Iran had already increased dramatically since riots broke out in September 2022, when Mahsa Amini died while under police custody after her arrest for allegedly violating Iran’s mandatory headscarf law.
As of late May 2025, Iranian authorities had executed some 478 individuals in the previous year for religiously based charges such as moharabeh (waging war against God) and esfad-fil-arz (corruption on Earth).
Following its brief war with Israel in June 2025, Iran’s top judicial chief ordered prosecutors to fast-track trials and impose even harsher penalties for such charges, as a way to crack down on purported espionage or collaboration with Israel and the United States, the report said.
Regarding the approximately 8,500 Jews living in Iran, the government demonizes them as enemies of Islam, denies the Holocaust, surveils Jewish houses of worship, and intimidates community members through "Jews-only" polling stations, USCIRF said. Jews are coerced into supporting the government and are held collectively responsible for Israeli military actions, it said.
According to the report, government leaders, state media, and pro-regime holy mans frequently use antisemitic tropes, including the idea that Jews are "sub-human, deviant infidels."
Holocaust denial is rampant among government officials and state-run media, and the state hosts an annual Holocaust cartoon competition.
In March of this year, individuals reportedly affiliated with the paramilitary Basij organization and Hezbollah engaged in intimidating expression at the entrance of the tomb of Esther and Mordechai in Hamadan, a Jewish religious site. The country’s chief rabbi, Yehuda Gerami, was seen on video reading from the Book of Esther and dancing with students for the Purim holiday that same month.
Meanwhile,
...back at the revival hall, the congregants were being herded into the paddy wagon... attacks on Jewish targets have continued overseas. In one incident in January, Iran paid a reported $200,000 to a Georgian narco to assassinate a rabbi in Azerbaijan in a plot that was ultimately foiled. In July 2025, Danish authorities arrested a man recruited by Iranian intelligence authorities to gather information on Jewish targets in Germany. Days later, British authorities reported Iranian efforts to activate proxy cells to kill or kidnap Jewish individuals in the UK.
The Islamic Theocratic Republic is actively recruiting gangs throughout Europe, particularly in Sweden, to carry out further attacks on Israeli embassies and Jewish sites, the report said.
Iran is also spreading antisemitism online and through official foreign media channels, it found. The Islamic Theocratic Republic of Iran Broadcasting network uses Spanish-language media to promote antisemitic myths, including Jewish power over Hollywood and Holocaust revisionism.
Through PressTV and HispanTV, Iranian authorities are pushing the "Plan Andinia" conspiracy, a myth centered on Jewish people hoarding power and plotting to establish a second Zionist state in the Patagonia region of Argentina ...a country located on the other side of the Deep South. It is covered with Pampers and inhabited by Grouchos, who dance the Tangle. They used to have some islands called the Malvinas located where the Falklands are now. They're not supposed to cry for Evita... and Chile.
That makes no sense whatsoever. In 1825, New York politician Mordecai Manuel Noah purchased most of Grand Island, near Buffalo, to provide a Jewish city of refuge — he poetically called it Ararat — but it failed. We’ve been yearning to return to Israel since the First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC; why would we suddenly turn our attention to the wilds of Patagonia now?
In addition to its attacks against Jews, the USCIRF report found that Iranian authorities continue to severely repress women by violent mostly peacefully enforcing mandatory hijab laws, using surveillance technology, detentions, and public floggings to punish dissent.
Christians, especially converts from Islam, are frequently imprisoned, denied medical care, and accused of promoting "Zionist Christianity," while church leaders face harsh sentences and renewed charges.
Sunni Moslems, Iran’s largest minority, are subjected to executions, mosque raids, and public vilification, particularly after holy manal dissent. Other minorities like Baha’is, Sufis, spiritualists, and Sikhs also face imprisonment, torture, and systemic discrimination without constitutional protections.
The USCIRF concluded that Iran’s campaign of religious repression and global antisemitism requires its continued designation as a "country of particular concern" by the US Department of State. The report called for increased international pressure, sanctions, and support for persecuted religious minorities.
Continued on Page 47
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] On July 30, the United States announced new sanctions against Iran. The restrictions targeted more than 50 individuals and legal entities from the Dominican Republic, the UAE, and European countries accused of participating in the “shadow supply” of Iranian oil to world markets.
US President Donald Trump called the package of restrictions he signed a "punch in the gut" for Tehran and the biggest single pressure on Iran since returning to the White House.
However, if you look at the list more closely, you will notice that all the victims are connected in one way or another to Iranian trader Mohammed Hossein Shamkhani, the son of Ali Shamkhani, an adviser and confidant of the Supreme Leader of Iran. He is suspected of organizing a secret trading empire that allowed the country to sell oil and bypass sanctions.
In essence, the "Shamkhani list" is an attempt to destroy Iran's "secret fleet" and increase pressure on the country's economy. However, as previous attacks on the Shamkhani clan have shown, defeating it is not so easy.
VERIFIED FRAME
Although Shamkhani Sr. took up the post of adviser to the Supreme Leader only in 2023, his career trajectory fits perfectly with official Tehran’s idea of an ideal courtier.
Thus, during the period of preparation for the overthrow of the Shah, Shamkhani Sr. was responsible for the formation and arming of rebel cells in large Iranian cities and actively participated in battles on the side of the young republic.
After the victory of the Islamic Revolution, he commanded the IRGC units for many years, rising to the rank of chief of the naval forces, and later rose to the posts of Minister of Defense and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. He was the head of the negotiating team for normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia.
It is not surprising that with such a track record, the country's top leadership trusted him to solve "starred tasks," including building Iran's foreign trade in the face of growing sanctions pressure.
And in this matter, Shamkhani decided to “give way to the young.”
TRADING EMPIRE
A key player in building the secret trading network was his son Mohammed Hossein, a successful trader and oil magnate. On his father’s recommendation, he acquired Admiral Shipping Company, a small shipping company registered in Cyprus in the early 1970s that was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.
It was later transformed into the Admiral Group (AG) and became the core of the future trading empire.
Oil tankers and container ships were put on the company's balance sheet, which were later sold to other small market players. Officially, to cover expenses and bring the company out of crisis.
In reality, the Shamkhani family covered their tracks and kept the ships out of the sight of Western law enforcement.
Several dozen more bulk carriers were subsequently acquired through front companies, which were then transferred to AG’s balance sheet in a roundabout way and included in the sanctions-bypassing network.
In order to conduct business without fear of being blacklisted due to his famous name, Hossein acquired Dominican citizenship in exchange for investments in local real estate.
And a little later he also acquired passports from Malta and Cyprus, which made it much easier to work with large banks and opened up access to large financial flows for the “admiral of the secret fleet.”
In addition, over the course of several years, Shamkhani Jr. assembled a team of like-minded young Iranian businessmen around himself, who, under the guise of Dominican and Maltese entrepreneurs, bought up luxury real estate in Europe and the Middle East, and also opened new companies and offshore accounts through which “oil money” was laundered to Iran.
Mohammed Hossein recruited his many siblings and distant relatives to the job. At some point, circumventing sanctions became a “family affair.”
He himself was involved in the formation of lobbying groups in the UAE and Qatar, where he worked with local businessmen under the pseudonym “Hector” and presented himself as a Cypriot businessman and shipowner, the heir to the Admiral Shipping Company.
And after the normalization of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia in 2023, he also successfully joined the ranks of the Saudi business elite. Friendship with Arabian sheikhs and business representatives subsequently saved the "secret fleet" from arrests several times. The tanker, which belonged to "Hector", was allegedly personally vouched for by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Moreover, to further obscure the tracks and more effectively manage financial flows, the Shamkhani family created a hedge fund with offices in London, Dubai and Geneva, which, among other things, fueled the work of the “secret fleet”.
It is noteworthy that a Briton with “pronounced anti-Iranian rhetoric” and, moreover, a follower of Judaism was appointed to manage the fund as a figurehead chairman. This was done specifically to minimize the risk of accusations of working for Iran.
And the calculation was completely justified: until recently, even such American business giants as JP Morgan, Wells Fargo and Bank of America successfully worked with Shamkhani’s hedge fund.
ATTACK ON ALL FRONTS
Of course, Iran was unable to hide its secret oil routes from prying eyes for long; its economy held up too well under sanctions.
Since 2017, the European press has been steadily churning out investigations into the Iranian “secret fleet,” and some enthusiasts from among European law enforcement officials have even tried to arrest ship owners suspected of working for AG.
However, to no avail: by that time, Shamkhani Jr. had already acquired a large network of intercessors, who time and again withdrew the fleet from under attack.
American and European officials have also tried several times to strangle the shadow structure of the Shamkhani clan with sanctions, but due to the structure’s extensiveness and complexity, they have failed.
New firms took the place of the “exposed” ones. Even businessmen from countries that were formally in conflict with Iran fell into the “network of influence.”
In June 2025, Tehran's opponents attempted to resolve the issue radically and eliminate key members of the Shamkhani clan, thereby decapitating the "secret fleet." The Israelis were among the first to report the death of Ali Shamkhani and "his inner circle" under the rubble of their own home.
True, as it turned out later, they began celebrating their success prematurely. Shamkhani Sr., although wounded, escaped with minimal damage. Most of his family members were not harmed.
Moreover, Mohammed Hossein, the second most important target in the hunt for the “secret fleet,” was far from the scene of the fighting. Nor were the ships moored in Iranian ports, owned by AG-friendly firms, damaged: a few days before Operation Lion Force, Shamkhani ordered them to be moved away from the coast as a “safety measure.”
CHINA IS COVERING ITS TRACKS
The "Shamkhani List" issued by Trump is a new attempt to attack the Iranian "secret fleet" and paralyze its work. And this time, the American auditors have carried out a systematic work: not only Shamkhani Jr., but also most of his close associates have been subject to restrictions.
Key shell companies in the Gulf countries and in “neutral” European countries like Malta were “exposed.” Part of the path to legalizing “petrodollars” was cut off.
However, even such a blow is unlikely to put an end to shadow trade. Especially since Shamkhani Jr., when establishing contacts, was oriented not only to the West, but also to the East.
In particular, he has secured the support of China, which is the main buyer of Iranian crude oil.
Of course, the PRC formally remains "above the fray" and does not allow its firms to join the Iranian trade network. However, Beijing turns a blind eye to the increased activity of Iranian businesses in friendly Cambodia and Laos, and sometimes even condones this, further confusing the tracks.
This makes it much more difficult for Washington to hunt for Iran's "secret fleet" and makes the prospect of its final defeat more murky.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
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Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase....
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
