News

The shocking news about Omer Neutra, an American citizen who was believed to have been held alive in Gaza for the past 14 months, rocked the Jewish community that has been clinging to hope. Omer, who was from Plainview, Long Island, was apparently killed during the October 7 attack, and his body was taken by Hamas terrorists to Gaza and held there. As tragic as this news is, it also highlights the dichotomy of the reactions of our nation’s leaders.

The United Nation Security Council recently voted on a ceasefire resolution to end the state of hostilities in Gaza. This seemingly righteous resolution was fundamentally flawed. It called for the cessation of the War between Israel and the Islamic terrorists including Hamas but did not mention the 101 hostages now held under dire conditions for more than 400 days. Previous resolutions from the UNSC had linked hostage release with the end of the war. Why the change in language?

On Sunday evening, at the end of a long Thanksgiving weekend, lame duck President Joe Biden issued a much-awaited but endlessly-denied pardon for his son Hunter.  The shed light on the lie that Biden and his administration, led by Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre, have been telling for months when they claimed he would not issue the pardon.  It also shows exactly who Biden has been throughout his entire political career.

Late last week, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The ramifications for this are equally broad and non-existent.  Nothing will change because these warrants were issued, yet everything has changed because they were issued.  How the United States and the world reacts to this is what makes the warrants themselves so dangerous.

The shocking murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan has sent ripples of grief and concern through the UAE, Israel, and the global Jewish community. A 28-year-old emissary of the Orthodox Jewish Chabad movement, Rabbi Kogan’s death in the Emirati city of Al Ain marks a dark moment in the evolving relationship between Israel and the UAE, a relationship that has seen remarkable progress since the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020.

Israel has been at war for more than 14 months. We are told that Hamas has been destroyed as a military force. Yet soldiers die almost daily in Gaza. We are told that Hezbollah has been brought to its knees and no longer functions as a cohesive fighting army. Yet rockets continue to fly; according to the Alma Research and Education Center, in October more projectiles were fired from Lebanon than in any month since October 7, 2023, and 54 Israelis were killed in the North. The IDF is performing at a laudable level and we must be united in its support until the war is over. However, we are battling on multiple fronts and the cost to families, businesses, and the government is high. How can we retain our spirit and confidence under such stressful boundary conditions?