Podcasts about Eilat

In this uplifting episode of IsraelCast, host Steven Shalowitz sits down with professional basketball player Jared Armstrong, whose inspiring journey has taken him from Philadelphia to the southern Israeli city of Eilat. Jared shares how his love for basketball and deep sense of purpose led him to Israel, where he plays professionally and runs JAB Camp—an initiative that brings together youth from diverse backgrounds through basketball, education, and dialogue. As a Black Jewish athlete, Jared reflects on his unique identity, his advocacy work following October 7, and his efforts to bridge communities both in Israel and the U.S. through sport. Hear how he's using the game he loves to teach life skills, build connections, and inspire the next generation to pursue their dreams with purpose and resilience.

Solomon's kingdom at its' height extended as far north as parts of what is today southern Turkey, and as far south as the port of Eilat. He even had a fleet of sailing ships in the Indian Ocean!

On today's episode of Inside the Epicenter, we chat with Judy Pex, co-founder of The Shelter guest house in Eilat, Israel. Judy shares how she and her husband, John, have welcomed travelers, refugees, and volunteers for 40 years. We'll discuss the impact of their Friday night Shabbat meals, their work with Sudanese refugees and Israeli evacuees, and Judy's journey as an author. Join us for an insightful look into the power of hospitality and community. 03:37 "Journey to Faith and Israel"09:24 Returning to Israel: 1976 Journey13:11 "Inspired by Shelter Volunteers"14:02 "Impactful Experience at the Shelter"17:21 New Immigrants Share Shabbat Hospitality22:04 Prayer and Reflection for Israel23:39 Multilingual John's Refugee Encounter29:27 Fostering Sudanese Boys' Journey30:56 Evocative Novel Transports to Israel35:56 "Writing for Believers and Unbelievers"39:51 "Becoming Trail Angels at Shelter"43:07 Evacuees Bond in Shelter Experience46:22 "Welcoming Adventures in Jesus' Name"48:45 Volunteering and Community in Israel Learn more about The Joshua Fund: JoshuaFund.comMake a tax-deductible donation: Donate | The Joshua FundStock Media provided by DimmySad / Pond5 Bible verse Psalm 91:"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust." Prayer request "Will you join us in praying for the people of Israel and her neighbors as they need more than ever to seek shelter and refuge in the Lord Almighty? Pray that they would cry out to God and that he would answer them. We know that God promises he's not far away. He's right at hand and is the God who answers prayer." Related Episodes.Episode #198: "Hospitality in the Holy Land"Episode #145: "The Christian Exodus: Stories of Belief in Modern Israel"Episode #221: "Ministries in Crisis: Serving During Times of Conflict"Episode #175: "Cultural Clashes and Community Building" Referral Links https://www.joshuafund.com/learn/latest-news/join-us-on-our-alaska-cruise Donate a generous monthly gift to The Joshua Fund to bless Israel and Her Neighbors now and for the long haul. Become an Epicenter Ally today! Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

The consumer lending space has seen a great deal of innovation in the past decade or more. But the number of completely new lending concepts that cross my desk has reduced to a trickle in the past couple of years. That is why I was excited to see an idea that was completely original and compelling.My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One podcast is Veetahl Eilat-Raichel, the CEO and Co-Founder of Sorbet. While you could think about Sorbet as an unsecured consumer lender, because that broadly defines them, they have discovered a completely untapped niche: PTO (Paid Time Off). Most employees accrue PTO that has real value and Sorbet has figured out how to tap into that value to create a lending product.In this podcast you will learn:The founding story of Sorbet.The size of the unused PTO marked in this country.The percentage of employees that accrue PTO.How their PTO advances work.How they integrate with payroll systems.When the issued their first loan.Their unique capabilities to underwrite PTO.What they consider to be their technological moat.What happens if someone uses all their PTO and then leaves their job.The two types of personas that uses Sorbet.The average loan size and the range of interest rates charged.What they have learned in the data so far.How they are going to market.How they are educating the market on the concept.What they learned from the earned wage access space.The three revenue streams they have.Their biggest challenge in growing the business today.How they are funding their loans.The early pivot they made that transformed the company.Connect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

During our group Zoom call, please take a moment to enjoy the message portion. I'll share a brief overview of how the Scriptures guide us in understanding 'hope.' This introduction is meant to spark our interest in the topic and highlight its significance in our journey as disciples. We'll delve deeper into this theme in our upcoming devotion times.Following warnings about the infiltration of hostile aircraft that were activated in Eilat (southern Israel, by the Red Sea), the Israeli Air Force intercepted a UAV that made its way to the territory of the country from the east. The UAV was intercepted before it crossed into Israel.Sources associated with the Syrian opposition report that last night, Israel attacked Hezbollah trucks in Syrian territory that were trying to enter Lebanon, near the "Al-Zamrani crossing" in the Al-Qalamoun area.Thank you to our incredible partners and friends for your unwavering support!List of Urgent Needs:- F350 Truck and accessories: $50,000- Iridium Certus Thales MissionLINK x 2 plus network connection: $10,000- Fuel for mission distribution: $80 per daily mission- Aid supplies family support kits: $150- Ministry emergency fund goal: $30,000To give, use this link http://member.bulldozerfaith.com/givePayPal.me/bulldozerfaith https://cash.app/$bulldozerfaith Daily Devotional and teaching with Kenny Russell - Get connected with our Podcast Channelshttps://feeds.captivate.fm/what-then-shall-we-sayEmail kenny@bulldozerfaith.com

Fluent Fiction - Hebrew: Diving Into Friendship: A Vacation in Eilat's Waters Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/he/episode/2024-11-04-23-34-02-he Story Transcript:He: אילת הייתה מוארת בשקיעה כתומה-זהובה.En: Eilat was illuminated by an orange-golden sunset.He: יאֵל, ארי וליאור עמדו ליד החוף, מתפעלים מיופיו של ים סוף.En: Yael, Ari, and Lior stood by the shore, admiring the beauty of the Red Sea.He: יאֵל הרגישה את ליבוֹ פעול בחוזקה.En: Yael felt her heart beating strongly.He: היא כל כך התרגשה מהחופשה הזו.En: She was so excited about this vacation.He: זה היה רגע שחיכתה לו – הצלילה בים העמוק והמסתורי.En: It was a moment she had been waiting for—the dive into the deep and mysterious sea.He: בערב, הם הלכו למסעדה מקומית.En: In the evening, they went to a local restaurant.He: האוויר היה חם ונעים.En: The air was warm and pleasant.He: יאֵל, תרה חוויות, הזמינה מנה אקזוטית.En: Yael, always seeking new experiences, ordered an exotic dish.He: היא אהבה לנסות דברים חדשים, לגורל ולגלות טעמים חדשים.En: She loved trying new things, taking risks, and discovering new flavors.He: כשבעה היא בחשבון, היא חשה פתאום קוצר נשימה וגירוד בעור.En: As she was enjoying her meal, she suddenly felt shortness of breath and itching on her skin.He: פחד השתלט עליה.En: Fear took hold of her.He: ארי וליאור הבחינו במהרה שמשהו לא בסדר.En: Ari and Lior quickly noticed that something was wrong.He: יאֵל ניסתה להסתיר את אי הנוחות שלה.En: Yael tried to hide her discomfort.He: היא לא רצתה שהם יחשבו שהיא חלשה או תלותית.En: She didn't want them to think she was weak or dependent.He: אך כשהתחושות לא פגו, התמודדה עם הפחד שלה וביקשה עזרה.En: But when the symptoms didn't go away, she faced her fear and asked for help.He: היא הסירה את המסכה וחושפת את הפגיעוּת שבה.En: She removed the mask and revealed her vulnerability.He: ארי, בנחישות, קרא לעזרה.En: Ari, with determination, called for help.He: ליאור נשאר לצידה, מדבר איתה בקול מרגיע.En: Lior stayed by her side, speaking to her in a calming voice.He: כשהגיעו הטיפול הרפואי, היה ברור שזה היה תגובה אלרגית.En: When the medical care arrived, it was clear that it was an allergic reaction.He: יאֵל התעוררה בתחושה של תודה ומחובקת על ידי החברים שלה.En: Yael awoke feeling grateful and embraced by her friends.He: למחרת בבוקר, עם תמיכה מלאה מארי וליאור, יאֵל שחתה אל המים הכחולים.En: The next morning, with the full support of Ari and Lior, Yael swam into the blue waters.He: צוללת דרך מים קרירים ושקטים, היא הרגישה חופשית ומוכנה להרגיש את הקסם שמתחת לפני הים.En: Diving through the cool and quiet waters, she felt free and ready to experience the magic beneath the sea's surface.He: כשחזרו לחוף, יאֵל ידעה שהחברים שלה באמת כאן בשבילה.En: When they returned to the shore, Yael knew that her friends were truly there for her.He: היא חייכה לעצמה, מרגישה שלמדה משהו חשוב על הידידות ועל עצמה.En: She smiled to herself, feeling that she had learned something important about friendship and about herself.He: היא מצאה כוח לא ע"י הסתרה, אלא על ידי פתיחות ושיתוף.En: She found strength not by hiding but by being open and sharing.He: יאֵל למדה את ערך האמון והתמיכה, וזו התחושה שהפכה את החופשה באילת לבלתי נשכחת.En: Yael learned the value of trust and support, and it was this feeling that made the vacation in Eilat unforgettable. Vocabulary Words:illuminated: מוארתshore: חוףadmiring: מתפעליםbeating: פעולdive: הצלילהmysterious: מסתוריpleasant: נעיםexotic: אקזוטיתdish: מנהitching: גירודfear: פחדdiscomfort: אי נוחותvulnerability: פגיעוּתdetermination: נחישותcalming: מרגיעallergic: אלרגיתreaction: תגובהgrateful: של תודהembraced: מחובקתsupport: תמיכהcool: קריריםsurface: מתחת לפניstrength: כוחhiding: הסתרהopenness: פתיחותsharing: שיתוףtrust: האמוןunforgettable: בלתי נשכחתevening: בערבrisks: לגורלBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/fluent-fiction-hebrew--5818690/support.

Natalie welcomes two guests to the show today; 1) Sarah Koren, former Critical Care Nurse Specialist from Philadelphia who made aliyah in 1988; and Ezra Fleishman, Teacher, who made aliyah from Brooklyn just before Sukkoth, about a week ago. Sarah is a Team Leader for the Republicans Overseas and is in charge of Pennsylvania. She discusses her aliyah which began in the WUJS program in Arad, and her subsequent careers as a Critical Care Nurse first in Yoseftal Hospital in Eilat, and later in Hadassah Ein Kerem and Sheba. Regarding her current work with the Republican Party, Sarah explains the challenges involved with Absentee voting and more. She emphatically declares that this U.S. Presidential Election is the most important one in our lifetime. Natalie next welcomes Ezra Fleishman to the program who moved with his wife to Ramat Beit Shemesh to be near his two daughters. He describes the ease of living in this Anglo "bubble" and how there are Rabbis who give sermons in English, classes are in English, and shopkeepers speak English. Returning Home 20OCT2024 - PODCAST

This is Part 1 of a two-part episode series in memory of the events of October 7th. Margarita interviews Shira Rosenstein and Eilat Tibi. Shira is the PR Manager for a NGO organization called ISRAEL-Is. One of the major contributions of this organization is their unique virtual reality film, "Survived To Tell" which takes the viewer through the sites of October 7th. Eilat Tibi is a Nova Music Festival survivor. In the past year, Eilat spent time serving in the IDF and working for the Nova Exhibition in NYC and LA. We cover the lives of these two women post-October 7th and their remarkable contributions. Connect with Shira on Instagram @israel.is.you and @survived.to.tell . Learn more about the work of ISRAEL-IS at www.israel-is.org Connect with Eilat on Instagram @eilatibi . Learn more about the Nova Music Festival Exhibition on Instagram @novaexhibition . What We Discuss: 00:00 Intro & Episode Agenda 05:03 Shira Rosenstein's story & ISRAEL-Is 35:35 Eilat Tibi - Finding the way after Nova --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/peoplejewwannaknow/support

“I never thought there's antisemitism. It's something from the past, for my grandparents, for my mom a little, but it's not something in my generation, or my kids' generation. It's done . . . apparently, not.” Einat Admony is a chef, cookbook author, comedian, and social media star who grew up in Bnei Brak, Israel. With parents from Iran and Yemen, Einat spent her childhood in the kitchens of Mizrahi, Sephardi, and Ashkenazi neighbors. Learn about her family's deep-rooted Jewish heritage in Iran and the broader Middle East. Along with her mother Ziona's journey from Iran to Israel in 1948, Einat discusses the antisemitism she's dealt with online and on the streets in the past year. Hear her stories of Jewish-Muslim coexistence in Iran and memories of spices and perfumes that inspire Einat's dishes. Her cookbooks Balaboosta and Shuk, along with her Manhattan restaurant Balaboosta, reflect a blend of tradition and innovation. “You could not have Judaism today, if it were not for the Jews of Iran,” says Houman Sarshar, an independent scholar and director of publications at the Center for Iranian Jewish Oral History in Los Angeles. Sarshar highlights the historical relationship between Iran and Israel, noting that Iran was the second Muslim-majority country to recognize Israel post-1948.  The conversation also touches on the challenges faced by Jews in Iran, their cultural integration, and the impact of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.  —- Show notes: How much do you know about Jewish history in the Middle East? Take our quiz. Sign up to receive podcast updates. Learn more about the series. Song credits:  Pond5:  “Desert Caravans”: Publisher: Pond5 Publishing Beta (BMI), Composer: Tiemur Zarobov (BMI), IPI#1098108837 “Suspense Middle East” Publisher: Victor Romanov, Composer: Victor Romanov; Item ID: 196056047 ___ Episode Transcript: EINAT ADMONY: I've been in Israel a few months ago. It's like you always feel loved, you always feel supported. It's still home. It's always going to be my home. MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: The world has overlooked an important episode in modern history: the 800,000 Jews who left or were driven from their homes in the Middle East and North Africa in the mid-20th century. Welcome to the second season of The Forgotten Exodus, brought to you by American Jewish Committee. This series explores that pivotal moment in history and the little-known Jewish heritage of Iran and Arab nations. As Jews around the world confront violent antisemitism and Israelis face daily attacks by terrorists on multiple fronts, our second season explores how Jews have lived throughout the region for generations despite hardship, hostility, and hatred, then sought safety and new possibilities in their ancestral homeland. I'm your host, Manya Brachear Pashman. Join us as we explore untold family histories and personal stories of courage, perseverance, and resilience from this transformative and tumultuous period of history for the Jewish people and the Middle East.  The world has ignored these voices. We will not.  This is The Forgotten Exodus. Today's episode: Leaving Iran. MANYA: Whether she's deviling eggs soaked in beet juice, simmering Oxtail in shawarma spices, or sprinkling za'atar on pastry dough, chef Einat Admony is honoring her family's Middle Eastern heritage. Both the places where they have lived for generations, as well as the place they have and will always call home: Israel.   EINAT/Clip: Start with brushing the puff pastry with olive oil and za'atar. Have some feta all around and shredded mozzarella. Take the other sheet and just cut it to one inch strips. Now we're going to twist. Need to be careful. Now we're just gonna brush the top with the mix of oil and za'atar. Get it some shiny and glazy. This is ready for the oven. Bake at 400 until it's golden. That's it super easy, just sprinkle some za'atar and eat. MANYA: For the chef, author, reality TV star, and comedian, food reflects the Zionist roots that have been a constant for Einat, the self-made balaboosta, who is largely credited with introducing Israeli cuisine to the U.S. That love for Israel goes back generations, long before the modern state existed, when her maternal ancestors lived in the land, that until 1935 was known as Persia, but is now known as Iran. Her own mother Ziona, the third of seven siblings, was even named for the destination where Einat's grandparents aspired to one day raise their family. Returning home to the land of Zion from which Jews had been exiled centuries earlier was always the goal. When you ask her why, Einat laughs in disbelief.  EINAT: Why? Why? That's homeland. I think a lot of Jewish people for hundreds of years was, that's in every prayer, it's in every Shabbat dinner evening. MANYA: The hatred directed toward Israel by Iran's regime in the form of the deadly attacks on Israel by Iran-backed terrorist groups and the Islamic Republic of Iran itself make it hard to believe that Iran was once a place where Jews and the Zionist movement thrived. But in fact, Iran's history includes periods when the wide-open roads between Iran and Israel ran two ways and the countries not only lived in harmony but worked in close partnership.  Iran was the second Muslim-majority country after Turkey to recognize the modern state of Israel after its formation in 1948, and the two established diplomatic ties. Regular flights ran between Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport and Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport.  SARSHAR: We cannot overlook the fact that since October 29, 539 BCE the Jewish community of Iran remains to this day the largest community of Jews anywhere in the Middle East outside the state of Israel. To this day. You could not have Judaism today, if it were not for the Jews of Iran.  MANYA: Houman Sarshar is an independent scholar and director of publications at the Center for Iranian Jewish Oral History in Los Angeles. He has edited a number of books, including Esther's Children: A Portrait of Iranian Jews.  SARSHAR: The history of the Jews in Iran begins about 2,700 years ago, when the first community of known Jews was taken to Iran. They are commonly believed to be one of the 10 Lost Tribes. And then when we fast forward to when Nebuchadnezzar came and destroyed the temple in Jerusalem and took Jews into captivity. Some years after that at 539 BCE on October 29, 539 BCE, to be exact, Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid dynasty, liberated Babylon and gave Jews the permission to go back to Israel and rebuild the Second Temple. MANYA: Cyrus the Great – a Persian emperor particularly renowned among contemporary scholars for the respect he showed toward peoples' customs and religions in the lands that he conquered. According to the Book of Ezra in the Hebrew Bible, Cyrus even paid for the restoration of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. SARSHAR: This is known as the Second Temple period in Jewish history, and under the Achaemenid dynasty, Jews participated in every level of society. And a few centuries forward, around the 5th Century, we know the Jews continue to live with many freedoms, because that is the era when the Babylonian Talmud was originally produced in Iran by Rav Ashi. So, you know, there was a thriving rabbanut (rabbanite) in Iran who had the freedom and the luxury and the time to be able to produce such an important document as the Talmud, which has become the cornerstone of all jurisprudence that we know, Western law, and everything. MANYA: The advent and arrival of Islam in Iran in the 7th Century CE changed circumstances somewhat. As was the case across the Middle East, all non-Muslims became dhimmis – residents who paid a special tax and lived under certain restrictions. The situation for Jews worsened in the 16th Century when the Safavid dynasty made the Shiite creed the dominant form of Islam in Iran. Fatwas made life for all non-Shiites quite difficult. SARSHAR: And for reasons that are still open to discussion, all of these restrictions were most vehemently imposed on the Jews of Iran. And because of these restrictions, all non-Shiites were considered religiously impure. And this religious impurity, kind of like the concept of the untouchable sect in India, they were considered pollutive. MANYA: Jews could not look Muslims in the eye. They were placed in ghettos called mahaleh where they could not leave on rainy days for fear the water that splattered on them could contaminate the water supply. They wore yellow stars and special shoes to distinguish them from the rest of the population. They were not allowed to purchase property from Muslims or build homes with walls that were higher than those of their Muslim neighbors. SARSHAR: They could not, for example, participate in the trade of edible goods because, you know, fruits and vegetables and meats carried this pollution. So Muslims could no longer consume the foods that were touched by Jews. And as a result, this created a certain path forward in history for the Jews of Iran.  They went into antique trades. They went into carpet trades. They went into work of textiles. They became musicians. And for the following 500 years, these restrictions kind of guided the way the Jews of Iran lived in that country, even though they had been there for thousands of years previously. MANYA: Houman said the 1895 arrival of the Alliance Israélite Universelle, a Paris-based network of schools for Jewish children throughout the Middle East and North Africa, including within the mahalehs in Persia, was the first step in a series of improvements for Jews there. SARSHAR: Previous to that, Jews were not allowed to get any kind of an education whatsoever. The only teachers were the Muslim clergy, and they refused to teach anything to Jewish students. So this allowed for the Jewish community to finally start to get a Western-style education, which was very important at that time, given all of the dynamics that were going on in society with modernity. MANYA: As educational opportunities increased in the middle of the 19th Century, so did opportunities for the courtiers and elite to travel and see the Western world as it industrialized and modernized, expanding international trade and sharing wealth more widely. SARSHAR: Often they would be sent by their families to go and try to see if they can, you know, find a way to expand the family's businesses and lives as merchants, and they would come back shocked. I mean, Iran was a place where you know of mostly mud brick homes and dirt roads and people riding around on donkeys. And imagine this is all you've known. You never see women walking around the street. The only women you have ever seen with your own eyes in your life are your mom, your sister, your daughter or your wife, and occasionally, sex workers. And that's it. So all of a sudden, you know, you travel a couple of months by boat and train, and you get to Paris, and it's impossible to try to even conceive of the experience. It must have been something like the Hegelian experience of the sublime. What can the world look like? And where is it that I live in, and why isn't my country the same as this? MANYA: By the early 20th Century, the Persian people concluded the answer to that question was in the rule of law. The reason the European nations provided such opportunity for the community at-large had to do with the fact that the law of the land was not arbitrary or enforced by religion or royalty. It was embedded in a constitution – a set of laws that define the structure of a government and the rights of its citizens – a Western tenet that reduced the power of the clergy and created a parliament called the Majles. SARSHAR: They were starting to read travel journals. They were starting to understand the perspective that Westerners had on Iranians, and those perspectives were often awful. You know, the Western world believed, for example –the country was corrupt to the bone in every respect.  So all of these things gradually led to a call for a constitution, the major pivot of which was the establishment of a legislature of law that would start to create a community where everyone can feel like they're equal in the eyes of the law and have something to gain by trying to improve the country as a whole. Iran became the first constitutional monarchy in the Middle East in 1906 when that revolution happened, it was a momentous event. And really, things really, really did, in fact, start to change. MANYA: In 1925, Reza Shah Pahlavi – an arch nationalist who wanted to propel Iran forward into the industrial age – took over the crown of Iran. He welcomed any Iranian citizen to participate in that agenda. SARSHAR: By now, we had a good two generations of Jews who had been French-educated by the Allianz Society.  They had all gone to France at some point in their lives, so they were able to participate in this industrialization of the country, given the language skills that they had and some of the connections they had built in the Western world. MANYA: Both World Wars in Europe took a massive toll on Iran. Despite declaring neutrality, Iran was occupied by European nations that took over the nation's agriculture, treating Iran as a pantry to feed the armies. Droughts and disease worsened the toll. SARSHAR: One of the lesser-known factoids about history is that during World War I, the nation that lost the most individuals as a result of the war was Iran. Above and beyond all European nations who were at war, because of a famine that had started in Iran. The same dynamic started to happen in World War II. MANYA: With nationalist fever sweeping Europe and Iran, the Allies feared the arch-nationalist Shah would go the way of Franco in Spain, Mussolini in Italy, and Hitler in Germany. They also feared the Shah would collaborate with Hitler's Germany to provide oil for the German oil machine and cease being the pantry the Allies needed it to be. In 1941, the Western powers convinced him to abdicate the throne to his son Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. And when the war ended, Iran was able to enjoy the same economic benefits as the rest of the world at peace time. Most importantly, it was able to profit from its own oil reserves, significantly boosting Iran's national income. SARSHAR: In 1941, it was really the beginning of what is commonly referred to by the scholars of Jewish Iranian history as the Golden Age of Iranian Jewry. From 1941 until the revolution in 1978, the Jewish community of Iran saw a meteoric rise to power and social wealth. Industries such as pharmaceuticals, banking, insurance, real estate development, and other major industries, the aluminum plastics industries in Iran, all were either directly owned by the Jews of Iran or managed under their management.  And during this period, really, we can say that for the first time, after 2,500 years, the Jews of Iran really started to experience the kinds of freedoms that they had not seen since the Achaemenid dynasty. And it is during this time that, you know, we see, really, that life started to change for the Jews of Iran, even though some of the age-old social dynamics were still there.  The institutionalized antisemitism had not been completely wiped out. But for the most part, things had changed because Iranian society in general was also being Westernized, light speed. And many educated people had realized that antisemitism was really looked down upon, you know, that kind of prejudice was really no longer acceptable in the world at large. So many, many sections of the community really had shifted, genuinely shifted. And some, even though maybe their feelings had not changed, knew that their antisemitism was something that they needed to keep private. MANYA: At that time, Iran also became a refuge for Jews fleeing Europe and other parts of the Middle East. On June 1, 1941, a brutal pogrom in Iraq known as the Farhud, incited by Nazi propaganda, targeted Jews celebrating the holiday of Shavuot. Nearly 200 Jews were murdered in the streets. The violence became a turning point for Iraqi Jews. Thousands fled, many stopping in Iran, which became a way station for those headed to Palestine.  In 1942, thousands of Jewish refugees from Poland who had fled across the border into the Soviet Union during the German invasion traveled on trains and ships to Iran. Among the refugees – 1,000 orphaned children.  As Zionist leaders worked to negotiate the young Jews' immigration to Palestine, the Jewish Agency established the “Tehran Home for Jewish Children” – a complex of tents on the grounds of a former Iranian Air Force barracks outside Tehran. More than 800 orphans, escorted by adults, most of them also refugees, moved from Tehran to kibbutzim in Palestine the following year. Later, in 1948, when most Arab League states forbade the emigration of their Jews after the creation of Israel, the Zionist underground continued to smuggle Jews to Iran at about a rate of 1,000 a month, before they were flown to Israel. SARSHAR: The Zionist movement was fairly strong in Iran. It was a very lively movement. The Balfour Declaration was celebrated in all of the Allianz schools in Iran, and very soon thereafter, the first Zionist organization of Iran was established. And truly many of its founding fathers were some of the leading industrialists and intellectuals in Iranian society, in the Jewish Iranian community for the years to come. It was not unlike the kind of Zionism we see today in the United States, for example. You know, the wealthy families of the Jewish communities in New York and Los Angeles, all are very passionate about Israel, but you don't see very many of them selling their homes and packing up and moving to Israel because they just don't want to do it. They feel like they're very comfortable here. And what matters is that a state of Israel should exist, and they are political advocates of that state and of that policy and of its continued existence, but not necessarily diehard participants in the experiment itself. Iranians, after the establishment of the State of Israel, were being encouraged to move to Israel, and the Israeli government was having a lot of difficulty with that, because a lot of Iranians were seeing that life had become better for them, and they weren't as willing to leave, despite the fact that the Kourosh Project provided airplanes to get Jews out of Iran. My own great-grandmother was one of those passengers. She is buried in Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. She was one of the early citizens of Israel who went to live out the Zionist dream. MANYA: Both sides of Einat's family – her mother and father's ancestors – were among those early Israeli citizens. Einat's father was born in Tel Aviv. His parents and grandparents had come from Yemen in the late 19th Century. Einat's mother Ziona was 10 years old when in 1948, the family left Kerman, a city in southeastern Iran known for its carpet weaving and woolen shawls. They arrived in Israel with their suitcases ready to fulfill their dream. But living the dream in the new Jewish nation was not easy. After all, the day after Israel declared its independence, Arab nations attacked the Jewish state, launching the first of a series of Arab-Israeli Wars. EINAT: The story of my mom, it's a very interesting story. The family didn't have much money. There wasn't like, rich family that left, very different story. No, both of my parents come from very, I would say, very poor family. My grandpa was, like, dealing with textile. He was like, traveling from town to town with fabric. And that's what they did. They put them in what's called ma'aborot, which was like a very kind of small villages, tin houses. My mom always said there were seven kids, so all of them in one room. In the winter it's freezing; in the summer, it's super hot. But it was also close to the border, so the one window they have, they always had to cover it so at night, the enemy cannot see the light inside that room and shoot there. Also in the ma'aabarot, nobody speaks the same language. So, it was Moroccan and Iraqi and nobody speak the same dialect or the same language. So, they cannot even communicate quite yet. MANYA: Most of Ziona's six siblings did not go to school. To make it possible for Ziona, her parents placed her in a foster home with an Iraqi family in Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv. EINAT: My mom's family decided that for her, she should get education, because most of the siblings didn't went to school or anything, So they put her in a foster home. In an Iraqi home, and she didn't speak a word there. So my mom, as a 10 years old, became a kid for foster parents that live in a center in Ramat Gan, where I basically grew up. And she got education, which was great. She learned also Iraqi, which is Arabic. So she speaks fluent Arabic, but she had not an easy life in coming to Israel from a different country. MANYA: Ziona has shared many of these stories with her daughter in the kitchen and dining room as they prepare and enjoy dishes that remind them of home. When she visited her daughter at her home in upstate New York at the end of the summer, Einat collected as many stories as she could over cutting boards, steaming pots, and sizzling pans. EINAT: There's a lot of story coming up, some old story that I know, some new stories. And it's really nice, because my mom is 84, 85. So, it's really nice to capture all of it, all of it. There is a lot of interesting stuff that happened during the first 10 years when she came to Israel.  That's the main, I think, I always talk about, like, how I grew up and how much food was a very substantial part of our life, if not the biggest part. You know, it's like, family can fight and this, but when it's come to the dinner, it's just change everything, the dynamic. For us, it was a big, significant part of everything. So obviously, most of these stories and memories come in while we're cooking or eating. A lot of time she used to talk about, and still talking about the smells, the smells of the flowers, the smells of the zafar (perfume). She still have the nostalgia from that time and talking very highly about what Iran used to be, and how great, and the relationship between the Muslims and the Jews back then. My grandpa's best friend was crying when he left, and he said: ‘Please don't go. Stay with us.' And he said: ‘I want to go to homeland.' So, they have a really great relationship. She's always talking, actually, about how they come for Shabbat dinner, the friends if they put the cigarettes outside of the door in Shabbat because they were observant. So cigarettes, lighter, everything, they keep it outside, in the garden, not coming inside the house. So a lot of mutual respect for the religion to each other. And I love that stories. It just showed what's happened when people take it extreme. MANYA: Einat's cookbooks and restaurant menus are filled with recipes from her own childhood and her parents' upbringing. To satisfy the appetite of her father, a former Israeli athlete, her house always had hummus and every weekend, the family made a hilbeh sauce --  a traditional Yemenite fenugreek dip made with cardamom, caraway seeds and chili flakes. Other recipes reflect her mother's Persian roots. And then there are recipes that, at first blush, seem to come out of left field, but are inspired by the Iraqi Jewish foster family that raised her mother, and the Mizrahi, Sephardi, and Ashkenazi neighbors that passed through the dining room and kitchen where Einat was raised in Bnei Brak.  Now a Haredi town east of Tel Aviv, it was then a diverse population of Jews from, well, everywhere. Einat still remembers standing on a stool next to the Moroccan neighbor in her building learning how to roll couscous. EINAT: One neighbor that was my second mom, her name was Tova, and she was Moroccan, so it was like, I have another Moroccan mom. But all the building was all Holocaust survivors. None of them had kids, and they were all speaking in Yiddish, mostly. So I grew up with a lot of mix. I wouldn't say, you know, in my time, it's not like our neighborhood. I grew up in Bnei Brak, and our neighborhood was very, it was before Bnei Brak became so religious like today. It was still religious, if you go really in, but we're close to Ramat Gan, and I have to say that it's, I would say, I didn't grow up with, it's very mixed, very mixed.  Wouldn't say I grew up just with Moroccan or Mizrahi, I say that it's very, very mixed. And my mom same. I think a lot of her friend is like, It's my mom would speak some Yiddish. She would do Kugel on Shabbat next to the jachnun and all the Mizrahi food. You know, this is the multi-pot and one things I love in Israel. You can see in one table so many different cultures. And that's something that would have happened in my house a lot. MANYA: That amalgam of Jewish cultures is reflected in her cookbooks Balaboosta and Shuk. It also shows up in her menu at the brick-and-mortar Balaboosta, a quaint Middle Eastern trattoria on Mulberry Street in Manhattan.  The name Balaboosta is borrowed from Yiddish meaning “a perfect housewife” – a twist on ba'al habayit, Hebrew for master of the house, or boss. But Einat insists that the term is no longer exclusively Ashkenazi, nor does it refer exclusively to a woman's domestic role. EINAT: An old friend, chef, asked me when I went to open Balaboosta, and I said, ‘I don't have a name.' She said: ‘What do you call a badass woman in Hebrew?' I'm like, ‘balaboosta.' She said, ‘It's a perfect name. We done.' Took five minutes to find this name, and I love it. It's really connected because for me it's so so much different things. You know, I always talk about the 20th century balaboosta. The balaboosta that outside going to work, the balaboosta that asking a man for a date. The balaboosta that it's not just like she's the housewife and the homekeeper. It's much more than that. Today, she's a multitask badass.  It's much more spiritual than what it is. I think it's the one that can bond the people together and bring them together and make peace between two parties clashing. So for me, it's much more than somebody that can cook and clean. So, much, much more than that. MANYA: Einat's parents became more religious when she was 12, which of course had the opposite effect on their daughter: she rebelled. When her time came to do her mandatory service in the Israel Defense Force, she was determined not to serve in a role typically assigned to women. She requested a post as a firing instructor. But after reviewing the high school transcript shaped by her rebellious adolescence, the IDF assigned her to the Nevatim Air Base where she served as a chauffeur for fighter pilots. EINAT: Back then most women would be secretaries giving coffee to some assholes. I was trying not to do that, and somehow I got very lucky, and I was in the same division, I was in the Air Force. I had amazing time for two years. I start the military a very different person, and left a very different person. I used to hang with a lot of bad people before, really bad people. And when I get to the military, I was a driver of pilots, it's the top of the top of the top in the hierarchy in the military in all IDF. So now I'm hanging with people that have the biggest ambition ever, and I'm learning new stuff, and everything opened up, even my language changed completely. Everything. I was want to travel more than I ever want before, and I have like, crazy dreams. MANYA: To make sure the elite pilots were well-fed, the IDF bused in a group of Yemenite grandmothers to provide ochel bayit, or home-cooked meals. Einat befriended the kitchen staff and helped out from time to time. Then in January 1991, she was tapped to cook a meal that probably launched her career. The IDF chiefs of staff had convened at Nevatim base to discuss the U.S. plan to bomb Iraq during the Gulf War and what Israel would do if Saddam Hussein retaliated with an attack on the Jewish state. But they needed to plot that strategy on full stomachs. A couple of pilots served as her sous chefs. That night, the Israeli generals dined on Chinese chicken with garlic, honey, and soy. And a rice salad. EINAT: It was definitely the turning point, the military.  I would say there is some values of relationship and working ethics that I wouldn't see anywhere else, and that's coming, I think because the military. They're waking up in the morning, the friendship, they're no snitching or none of this. It's to stand up for each other. There is so many other values that I grabbed from that. So when I start my culinary career, and I was in a fine dining kitchen, it was very helpful, very helpful. MANYA: After spending five years in a van driving around Germany – an extended celebration of freedom after IDF service --  it was time to get serious about a career. A culinary career made as good a sense as any. Einat worked as a waitress in Eilat and enrolled in culinary school. At the end, she marched into the kitchen of Keren, one of the first restaurants in Israel to offer haute cuisine. She got an internship, then a job. The former restaurant, run by Israeli Chef and television host Haim Cohen, is credited for reinventing Israeli cuisine. Now, as a restaurant owner and TV personality herself, Einat is largely credited for introducing Israeli cuisine to the U.S. But before she became the self-made Balaboosta of fine Israeli dining, Einat was America's Falafel Queen, made famous by two victories on the Food Network's show Chopped and her first restaurant – now a fast food chain called Ta'im Falafel. But her fame and influence when it comes to Israeli cooking has exposed her to a fair bit of criticism. She has become a target on social media by those who accuse Israelis of appropriating Palestinian foods – an argument she calls petty and ridiculous. So ridiculous, she has found the best platform to address it is on the stage of her new hobby: stand-up comedy. Cooking has always been her Zen. But so is dark humor. EINAT: I like comedy more than anything, not more than food, but close enough. EINAT/Clip: Yeah, this year was great here on Instagram, lot of hate comments, though. A lot about food appropriation, me making Arabic dishes. So let me clarify something here. I check my DNA through ancestry.com and I am 97% Middle Eastern, so I fucking bleed hummus. EINAT: It's very petty. Food, supposed always to share. Food supposed to moving forward.  It's tiring and life is much more complex than to even argue and have a debate about stupid things. I'm done. OK, yes, we're indigenous.I have connection to the land. My parents, my grandparents and great grandparents have connection to that land. Okay, I get it. Now we need to solve what's going on, because there was Palestinian that lived there before, and how we can, for me, how we change the ideology, which I don't see how we can, but how we can change the ideology, convince them that they want peace. And they want…I don't know. MANYA: Needless to say, in the year that has followed the attacks of October 7, stand-up comedy has not been the balm it once was. The attacks that unfolded that day by Iran-backed terrorists that killed more than 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped more than 250 more was simply too devastating. EINAT: I was broken there, my husband was with me, I was every day on a bed crying, and then going to work, and it was like I couldn't hear music, because every music thinking about Nova and my friends and then I couldn't see babies with a mom. Everything was a trigger. It was bad. We had a disaster of October 7 and then October 8 to see the world reaction was another. It's not just enough that we going through so much grief and need to kind of contain all that emotion and crazy and anger and rage and now we need to see the world's. Like, ok. I never thought there is antisemitism. It's something from the past, for my grandparents, for my mom a little, but it's not something in my generation, or my kids' generation. It's done, apparently, not. MANYA: The lack of sympathy around the world and among her culinary peers only amplified Einat's grief. As a way to push for a cease-fire and end U.S. support for Israel, nearly 900 chefs, farmers and others in the food industry signed a pledge to boycott Israel-based food businesses and culinary events that promote Israel. EINAT: I felt very, very alone, very alone. The first few months, I felt like, wow, not one call from anyone to check on me. It was pretty sad. At the same time, I'm in the best company ever Jewish community. There is nothing like that, nothing. MANYA: Her team at Balaboosta also checked in on their Israeli boss. But they too were scared. Soon after she posted pictures of the hostages on the window of her restaurant, she confronted a group of teenagers who tried to tear them down. EINAT: I stand in front of them and I said, ‘You better move fast'. MANYA: It's no secret that Iran helped plan Oct. 7. What is not as well known is how many Jews still live and thrive in Iran. Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, there were nearly 100,000 Jews in Iran. Today, Israeli sources say the population numbers less than 10,000, while the regime and Iran's Jewish leaders say it's closer to 20,000. Regardless, Iran's Jewish community remains the largest in the Middle East outside Israel.  To be sure, the constitution adopted in 1906 is still in place nominally, and it still includes Jews as a protected religious minority. Jews in Iran have synagogues, access to kosher meat, and permission to consume wine for Shabbat, despite a national ban on alcohol. There's also a Jewish representative in Iran's parliament or Majlis. But all women and girls regardless of religion are required to wear a veil, according to the Islamist dress code, and Jews are pressured to vote in elections at Jewish-specific ballot stations so the regime can monitor their participation. Zionism is punishable by death and after Oct. 7, the regime warned its Jewish citizens to sever contact with family and friends in Israel or risk arrest. They also can't leave. Iranian law forbids an entire Jewish nuclear family from traveling abroad at the same time. At least one family member, usually the father, must remain behind to prevent emigration. But Houman points out that many Iranian Jews, including himself, are deeply attached to Iranian culture. As a resident of Los Angeles, he reads Persian literature, cooks Persian herb stew for his children and speaks in Persian to his pets. He would return to Iran in an instant if given the opportunity to do so safely. For Jews living in Iran it may be no different. They've become accustomed to living under Islamist laws. They may not want to leave, even if they could. SARSHAR: The concept of living and thriving in Iran, for anyone who is not related to the ruling clergy and the Revolutionary Guard, is a dream that feels unattainable by anyone in Iran, let alone the Jews. In a world where there is really no fairness for anyone, the fact that you're treated even less fairly almost fades. MANYA: Scholars say since the Islamic Revolution, most Jews who have left Iran have landed in Los Angeles or Long Island, New York. Still, more Jews of Iranian descent live in Israel – possibly more than all other countries combined. The reason why? Because so many like Einat's family made aliyah–up until the mid-20th Century.  It's hard to say where another exodus might lead Iranian Jews to call home. Einat will be forever grateful that her family left when they still could and landed in a beautiful and beloved place. Though she lives in the U.S. now, she travels back to Israel at least twice a year. EINAT: It's a dream for every Jew, it's not just me. It's the safe zone for every Jew. It's the one place that, even if we have, it's not safe because there is people around us that want to kill us. It's still emotionally. You know, I've been in Israel a few months ago, it's like, you always feel loved, you always feel supported. It's incredible. And it's still home. It's always going to be my home. MANYA: Persian Jews are just one of the many Jewish communities who, in the last century, left Middle Eastern and North African countries to forge new lives for themselves and future generations.  Many thanks to Einat for sharing her family's story. You can enjoy some of her family's favorite recipes in her cookbooks Balaboosta and Shuk. Her memoir Taste of Love was recently released in  an audio and digital format.  Too many times during my reporting, I encountered children and grandchildren who didn't have the answers to my questions because they'd never asked. That's why one of the goals of this project is to encourage you to ask those questions. Find your stories. Atara Lakritz is our producer. T.K. Broderick is our sound engineer. Special thanks to Jon Schweitzer, Nicole Mazur, Sean Savage, and Madeleine Stern, and so many of our colleagues, too many to name really, for making this series possible. You can subscribe to The Forgotten Exodus on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts, and you can learn more at AJC.org/theforgottenexodus.  The views and opinions of our guests don't necessarily reflect the positions of AJC. You can reach us at theforgottenexodus@ajc.org. If you've enjoyed this episode, please be sure to spread the word, and hop onto Apple Podcasts or Spotify to rate us and write a review to help more listeners find us.

If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enjoys a popularity comeback as a result of Israel's military operation against Hezbollah and the assassination of the group's chief Hassan Nasrallah, he is likely to be tempted to call early elections, Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn said on the Haaretz Podcast. "It's a tried and true Netanyahu trick when he sees that his adversaries are weak," Benn noted, pointing to the reasons why doing so may be in the Israeli leader's interest, including "getting rid of" his far-right coalition partners Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich and his dependence on them. Benn, a veteran commentator on military and security affairs, said that the decapitation of Hezbollah leadership and its current paralysis represents a significant military victory for Israel. Nasrallah, he said, was a victim of hubris and his downfall came as a shock to allies and enemies alike. "Nasrallah was the symbol of Arab resistance to Israel and the United States," Benn said. "Over the years, he acquired a mythological image, even in Israel, as the man who understands Israel better than the Israelis themselves. But at the end of the day, even he was taken by surprise." The planning and execution of the ongoing offensive against Hezbollah stands in sharp contrast to the failures and missteps of October 7 and difficulties in Gaza when fighting Hamas, said Benn. "The IDF prepared for this attack for 18 years after the humiliation of the Second Lebanon War in 2006, when the IDF was caught unprepared for the kind of war that was waged. So for many years, the focus of Israeli intelligence, of Israeli drills, of operational planning, was Hezbollah." While applauding the operation against Hezbollah, Benn warned that Israel still faces a substantial threat from the "ring of fire" Iran has built around the country. "The Houthis in Yemen are still able to fire missiles at Israel... and the port of Eilat is still closed under the Houthi blockade. Pro-Iranian militias in Syria and Iraq are still there and Iran is still there. And most of the Hezbollah fighting force is alive and can be regrouped, even if not tomorrow or the next day."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What drew me to establish a friendship with Mark Kennedy, a Jewish political guru, through Facebook, was his well-informed, almost insider-esque, take on all things foreign policy and politics. For years, Mark and I would talk about U.S. politics, the Middle East, and all other hotspots world-wide, to the point where I knew I had to have Mark on as a featured guest on the Taking Back the Narrative podcast. Join us as we weave from where things stand in Israel today - from the North, Gaza, Eilat, hostage rescue progress, to Iran. We also broach the uncomfortable discussion of how much did Israel know before the Jewish genocide - the military, government, and the absolute brainwashing within the Arab occupier populations in both Gaza and in Judea & Samaria for nearly 80 years. Is there a Fifth Column in Israel?Can Israel sustain being a democracy? Why Tikkun Olam has long been bastardized. And of course, Mark expertly shares his insight on the upcoming American election, and how Jews are part of the political shift back towards President Trump in America.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode. The United States, France, and some of their allies called for an immediate 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah while also expressing support for a truce in Gaza, according to a joint statement of the countries released by the White House Wednesday following an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Lebanon. We begin by speaking about the apparent IDF achievements of the stepped-up airstrikes over the past week and then turn to the truce proposal and reactions to it. Alongside the massacre of 1,200 and abduction of 251 hostages on October 7, Hamas head Yihya Sinwar attempted to launch a regional war. As such a war appears increasingly realistic, Borschel-Dan asks Horovitz if Israel is playing into Sinwar's hands. We end today's episode by discussing this past year of journalism and how complicated responsible reporting is in this region. Horovitz explains some of the challenges facing news outlets and how some respected news sources are not rising to them. For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: A fateful, devastating year; a little about ToI's work; a thank you to ToI Community US, France lead joint call for immediate 21-day truce between Israel and Hezbollah Drone from Iraq hits Eilat port, causing damage and lightly injuring two Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod Waves. IMAGE: Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a meeting of the Security Council, September 25, 2024, at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I spoke last night with our frequent guest, former IDF spokesperson, Lt. Col. (Res.) Jonathan Conricus, to focus on what many outside Israel find to be a very confusing state of chaos. There is a government that has made clear that a red line – an inviolable boundary in its negotiations for a hostage deal with Hamas – is that it will not abandon the Philadelphi Corridor. Shortly after this position was made public in a leaked recording from an Israeli security cabinet meeting, the bodies of six hostages were found in the Gaza tunnels. They had been murdered by Hamas a short time before. And their deaths enraged the nation. Were their murders avoidable? Was PM Benjamin Netanyahu being callous to their plight in sticking to this position? Or was he steeling and doing what is necessary for the future of Israel? Listen to our discussion in which we explore this horrible dilemma.Below, just received before publishing this podcast episode, is the transcript of PM Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks to the international press at 8pm (Israel time) today, Wednesday, Sept. 4. His very full statement stands as a robust response to many parts of our podcast. I suggest reading the statement in full.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Remarks at his Press Conference for the Foreign MediaFollowing are Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks, this evening (Wednesday, 4 September 2024), at the GPO in Jerusalem:"Israel is experiencing days of horror, sorrow and rage. A week ago, we experienced such horror.Yesterday, I visited in Ashkelon the family of one of the hostages murdered in cold blood. A day earlier, I spoke to several of the families of these murdered hostages. It tears your heart out. I said to them that I'm sorry. I apologized that we, we didn't get them out. We worked so hard to get them. We were close. But we didn't. And they changed the torment of families worried about their loved ones to families grieving for their fallen beloved. That sentiment I know because I belong to that family. But it's a horror.We also lost brave policemen and brave soldiers who were fighting in the Gaza front and I embraced their families as well. All our people do.On October 7th, we experienced the worst savagery in this century. On October 7th, we experienced the worst savagery meted on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. These savages massacred our people. 1,200 civilians. They beheaded our men. They raped our women and then murdered them. They burnt babies alive. They took 255 of our people hostages to their underground dungeons. That's a horror that the world saw and responded to initially.It's important that we remember it. But we were given a reminder. A terrible reminder. Last week, when these savages murdered six of our hostages in cold blood. They riddled them with bullets. Then they shot each of them in the head. Some of them several times.And these are the savages, these are the terrorists that Iran implanted next to our border as elsewhere. And we're committed to defeating them, to extirpating this evil from our midst. I want to talk to you today about some of the things that we must do to achieve that goal, including the questions of the Philadelphi Corridor.But before I do that, I want to give your readers and viewers some context because often you see maps of Israel. You think it's a Goliath.Well, I'd like to give you first an overview of where Israel is. (Click here for a PDF file.)This is the Middle East, and this is the entire Arab world, and this is Israel. It's one of the world's tiniest countries. I give it the, you know, the thumb test. This is a big one, so you need a bigger thumb. But it's a tiny country. It's one of the tiniest countries on the planet. It's, I think one tenth of one percent of the territory of the Arab world, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's two tenths of one percent.It goes from the river. The river is right here. That's the Jordan River. To the sea, the Mediterranean Sea. So, when Hamas is talking about liberating Palestine from the river to the sea, basically, what they're saying is destroying Israel.And the entire width of this, it's probably around the width of the Washington Beltway, it's all together in its widest point is about 50 miles. Right here. Tiny.And here's Gaza there. This is the red thing that you see here. That's Gaza. Now I want to zoom in. When I zoom in, remember how tiny this is. Remember the distances here.Now, take a look. Here it is enlarged. This is Israel. This is the Mediterranean Sea. The Jordan River is right here.This is Egypt and the Sinai desert. Now, look at Gaza. Where is Gaza? Gaza is implanted in this tiny country 30 miles from Tel Aviv, 40 miles from our capital Jerusalem, 30 miles from Beer-Sheva. These are three of Israel's largest cities. Gaza is within spitting distance to them.Israel, up to the disengagement agreement of 2005, Israel controlled this border under an agreement with Egypt after the Camp David Peace Accords. We controlled this part, which is called the Philadelphi Corridor, I'll talk about that in a minute, right down to Eilat in the Red Sea. This was our border. And while there was, I would say a minimal amount of terrorism, that wasn't, we didn't really face a big problem.Let's zoom in on that a bit more. Here's Gaza Strip enlarged. Again, this is the situation in Gaza before the disengagement of 2005. And the Gaza Strip is firmly under Israeli control. We control the maritime border. You can't smuggle in weapons. They tried but we stopped it. You control the land border. And you control this border between the Sinai desert, Egypt and Gaza. The Gaza Strip, it's controlled. This is the Philadelphi Corridor. This is the Rafah Crossing. Controlled by the IDF.Now look at the distances from Gaza. It's four miles to another city in Israel called Ashkelon, where I visited that bereaved family yesterday. It's a population of 170,000 people. They are four miles away. But some of our communities like kibbutz Be'eri, which was one of the hardest hit, is one mile away from Gaza. Kfar Aza is less than one mile away. It's literally walking distance. Okay.And so, as long as we controlled this, these communities, sometimes they were harassed by this rocket or that rocket but it was marginal. We controlled the security situation. But something happened in 2005. Israel unilaterally disengaged from Gaza. It just went out. It took out everything. It took out the army. It stripped, uprooted communities, took out 10,000 people.The army left the Philadelphi Corridor. Here's what happened.This is Gaza after the disengagement. And Hamas now has a weapon smuggling operation nurtured by Iran, financed by Iran, supplied by Iran, delivered by Iran.And here's what happened. That Philadelphi Corridor became completely porous. The other borders controlled by us. But once this was perforated, even though the policy of Egypt was to prevent it, you know, it didn't necessarily work, it didn't, it didn't succeed. And this border once we left our side of the Philadelphi Corridor, rockets went in, missiles went in, drones went in, ammo went in, weapons manufacturing equipment came in, tunnel drilling equipment came in.Once we got out, once we left the Philadelphi Corridor, Iran could carry out its plan to turn Gaza into a base, a terrorist enclave that would endanger not only the communities around it but would endanger Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Beer-Sheva, the entire country of Israel. It became a huge terrorist base because we left that Corridor.So, we vowed, or I would say, all this, you have to understand that the centrality, the centrality of the Philadelphi Corridor to the arming of Gaza, to the arming of Hamas and this all led to the October 7th massacre, which Hamas has vowed, proudly vowed to do again and again and again.We vowed that they won't be able to do it. So we said, as far as Gaza is concerned, three war goals: The first war goal was to destroy Hamas's military and governing capabilities. The second was to free our hostages. And the third was to ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel.And all three of those goals, all three of them go through Israel's control of the Philadelphi Corridor. And it's obvious why. You want to destroy Hamas's military and governing capabilities – You can't let Hamas rearm. It's obvious. So you have to control the corridor. You can't let them have…by the way, it's not only to prevent them from terrorizing us, attacking us, it's also to prevent Hamas or any other terrorist organization from terrorizing the people of Gaza.Gaza cannot have a future if Gaza remains porous and you can enable rearmament of terrorists through the Philadelphi Corridor.The second thing is to release the hostages. First of all, you can't prevent, if you leave this Corridor, you can't prevent Hamas from, not only, not smuggling weapons in, you can't prevent them from not smuggling terrorists, hostages out. It's walking distance, nothing. They can easily smuggle hostages out here to the Sinai desert in Egypt, they disappear. It's crossing distance. The distance is nothing, it's meters, meters away.They cross the, the barrier above ground. They don't even have to go underground. They disappear in the Sinai and then they end up in Iran or in Yemen. They're gone forever.And you need something to squeeze them, to prevent them, to put pressure on them to release the remaining hostages. So if you want to release the hostages, you've got to control the Philadelphi Corridor. And the third reason, the third goal of ensuring that we prevent Gaza from being again a threat to Israel. It's clear. Gaza must be demilitarized. And it can only be demilitarized if the Philadelphi Corridor remains under firm control and is not a supply line for armaments and for terror equipment.I think that's clear to most Israelis, to all Israelis. But a question has arisen: that may be the case, but why don't you leave Gaza for 42 days, you could come back. Well, aside from what I said that they could smuggle the terrorists out. I want to show you what they've got under Gaza. I didn't show you that. So I want to show you that.This is what they have under the Philadelphi Corridor. Just so you understand the supply lines we're talking about. This is one of the tunnels there. Look at the engineering, look at the investment here, look at what they've got. We've got dozens of such tunnels, dozens of such tunnels, underneath the Philadelphi Corridor. To give you an impression of the size of these things: This is a soldier. This is a tunnel. You could drive a truck through this. Indeed, you could. Here's a truck, or it's a Humvee. This is a huge, huge problem.Now, you're just going to walk away? It's obvious we have to control it, right? I think, once you see this, you understand that? But then the next question is, okay, you leave and you come back. That's what they tell us. Okay. We'll have complete international legitimacy to come back. Sorry, we've gone down that route. We were down that route when we left Lebanon, and people said you can leave Lebanon and you can come back. The first time they fire a rocket you can come back, the world will support you. It didn't. And we've been out of Lebanon for 24 years.They said the same thing when we left Gaza in the disengagement. They said, you can leave, and the first rocket. I remember, Prime Minister Sharon said this to me. The first rocket above ground or below ground, we'll be able to go back in. It's been 20 years and we haven't gone back in. Because you all know and understand that the international community, including friendly countries, under enormous domestic pressure because of the propaganda that's leveled against Israel and against them, there'll be enormous, international pressure not to come back. What is their message? End the war. End the war. And so, when we want to come back and resume, we'll pay an exorbitant price in many fields, including in the lives of our men.To come back? It's not a just a military question. It's a military, political, strategic question. And we make that decision. We're not going to leave. 42 days? We're there. I don't want to leave in order to come back in, when I know that we didn't come back in. And it's not going to take another 24 years to come back in. And God knows what price we'll have? How many more massacres? How many more kidnappings? How many more hostages? How many more rapes? It's not going to happen.So, people said, yeah, but if you stay, this will kill the deal. And I say, such a deal will kill us. And there won't be a deal that way. This is a false narrative. I'm willing to make a deal. I made one already, one that brought back 150 hostages, 117 alive. And I'm committed to return the remaining 101. I'll do everything I can to get them in.But leaving Philadelphi does not advance the release of the hostages, because the deal cannot be advanced. They'll give you a minor part if they give anything, and keep the rest. Go and argue. You know when they started giving us hostages? When we went into Philadelphi. When we went into Rafah. When we controlled the Rafah Crossing. That's when they felt the pressure. As long as they didn't feel the pressure, they wouldn't do it. The first batch, the first deal that we got, was a result of our invasion, the military pressure we put in. They gave us the hostages. After that, they thought, well, you know, we'll have the international pressure turn on Israel so we won't have to do, we won't have to make any concessions. But after Rafah, their tune changed, and they began to change. If we leave Rafah, if we leave the Philadelphi Corridor, there won't be any pressure. We won't get the hostages.I said I'm willing to make a deal. The real obstacle to making a deal is not Israel and it's not me. It Hamas. It's Sinwar. On April 27th, I put forward a proposal by Israel, which Secretary Blinken called extremely generous. On May 31st, having met Blinken again, I said, we agreed to the US-backed proposal, and Hamas refused. On August 16th, the US brought forth what they called the final bridging proposal. Again, we accepted, Hamas refused. On August 19th, Secretary Blinken said, Israel accepted the US proposal, now Hamas has to do the same. On August 28th—that's a week ago—the deputy CIA director said Israel showed seriousness in the negotiations, now Hamas must make the deal. This was last week. So, I ask you, what has changed. What has changed in this week? What's changed is that they murdered six of our hostages in cold blood.Now, the world will seriously demand that Israel make concessions after this massacre? What message does this send to Hamas? I'll tell you what the message is. Murder more hostages, you'll get more concessions. That's not only illogical, it's not only immoral, it's downright insane. So, it's not going to happen. We have red lines before the murder. They haven't changed. We'll hold to them. But we also had flexibility. And I'll tell you one thing, Hamas will pay for this. That you can be assured. We'll make sure that we extract that price from them. But we are firm on our red lines, including the Philadelphi Corridor, for the reasons I described here. I'm flexible where I can be. I'm firm when I have to be.I think there is a possibility of getting this deal if we stick to this strategy. I said before, we got 150 hostages out because we combined a firm stance with military pressure. And I said that Hamas after that relied on international pressure, but it had weakened. And then we went into Rafah and the Philadelphi Corridor, so it got strengthened, and they were beginning to balk. A condition that they said they'd never accept, a red line, is that we must commit to getting out of Gaza and enabling Hamas basically to take over Gaza again. End the war, get out, let them retake Gaza. That's obviously something we couldn't do.They said there'll never be a deal. Well, they started caving in there after we took the Philadelphi Corridor. And then they started backing off. You know why they waited? Why they started backing off? Because they waited for Iran to start a general war with Israel. That didn't happen. So then they waited for Hezbollah to start a general war with Israel. That didn't happen either. So now they resort to the final tactic. They're going to sow discord and create international pressure, again using the hostages, even after the murder. And this is something that's not new because they started this a year ago.You should see this. I mean, this is their tactic. This is Hamas orders for psychological warfare, found in Hamas underground command post on January 29th, that's right after the beginning of the war, 2024. And this is the original document in Arabic. Our soldiers found it.And here's what it says: Push photos and videos of hostages. Put it out in the media, because that creates enormous psychological pressure. Who's not affected by it? Any human being seeing these souls, these girls, these people, young people from those dungeons, you're affected by. Second: Increase psychological pressure on defense minister. Third: Continue blaming Netanyahu. And fourth: Claim ground operation will not release hostages.That's Hamas', it's not only their talking points, it's their strategy. And their idea is this will sow internal discord and increase international pressure on Israel. That's what they hope to achieve. And they hope, they think this will happen. Well, it won't happen. I can tell you why it won't happen. I'll tell you why they'll fail. Because overwhelmingly the people of Israel are united. They understand everything that I said here. Overwhelmingly. You should know that. It's important. And the second thing is, we're committed to achieving our goals—all three goals: Destroying Hamas' military and governing capabilities, releasing all our hostages, and ensuring that Gaza does not become a threat to Israel anymore. And all these require standing firm on the things that will ensure the achievement of these goals. And with G-d's help, and with our people's will, and with the courage of our soldiers, we will achieve all goals."State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe

Welcome to the Jew and Gentile Podcast.   Text the Jew and Gentile your comments, questions, concerns (OY!), and news at: 424-444-1948   MUG-ON-A-MUG With your gift of $10 or more to FOI Equip, you to can have your very own Mug-on-a-Mug. Your generous donation helps to expand the important work of teaching the Bible from a Jewish perspective while raising up new FOI volunteers and representatives serving Jewish communities all around the world. Visit gofoi.org/mug to make your gift today and receive your own Jew and Gentile Podcast Mug-on-a-Mug.   Oy, look at Steve's punim! FROM THE SCRIPTURES The Common Thread: Future Israel https://www.foi.org/the-common-thread/   Your Free Will Whether you're 18 or 108, everyone should have a will in place. People use wills to choose who gets their property, name guardians for minor children, provide a plan for pets, and more.   Through a will, many people also choose to leave a part of their estate to The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry and make an impact on the causes they love, for years to come.:  foi.org/yourfreewill   Ezekiel Muffin Recipe https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hMxU2nRZPTpOSRx9X5g6ZkKJMZXSYY0v/view?usp=sharing   FOI Equip Classes: In the Life of a Torah Scribe RABBI SHMUEL BOWMAN SEPTEMBER 5   Have you ever wondered if Jewish scribes are a relic of the past? Discover the vibrant and essential role they still play today! Join Rabbi Shmuel Bowman as he shares his journey and calling as a Jewish scribe. In this class, you'll delve into his daily routines, the meticulous methods he employs, and the profound significance of his work in preserving the Torah. Don't miss this unique opportunity to gain insight into a living tradition!   Register: foiequip.org FOI Resources  Get a free one-year trial subscription to Israel My Glory https://israelmyglory.org/subscribe/ Get Involved with Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry https://www.foi.org/outreach   Chris Katulka's book: Israel Always foi.org/israelalways   Steve Herzig's book: Jewish Culture & Customs foi.org/jcc From the news surrounding Israel and the Jewish People:   Anticipating attacks, Israeli hospitals go underground https://www.israel21c.org/anticipating-attacks-israeli-hospitals-go-underground/   New study links early childhood tablet use to anger outbursts https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/12/health/children-screens-tablets-social-media-wellness/index.html   Iran attack on Israel could see Ben-Gurion Airport moved to Eilat - analysis https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-814479?utm_source=jpost.app.apple&utm_medium=share Yiddish Word(s) of the Day Torah - Law!

Arrow intercepts missile fired from Yemen toward Eilat in Houthi attack following IAF port strike. Rocket barrage from Lebanon strikes building, no injuries. Prime Minister Netanyahu slated to meet President Biden in US on TuesdaySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Security alert lifted in Eilat. Three Israelis detained on suspicion of carrying out tasks under direction of Iranian intelligence elements. Report: Hamas commanders pressuring Sinwar to end warSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode. Muhammad Deif, together with his deputy Rafa'a Salameh, were targeted in an airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday morning as they were reportedly present in an above-ground building between the al-Mawasi designated humanitarian zone and the city of Khan Younis. Before we turn to the operation, we hear about its targets? Four IDF soldiers were wounded, one seriously, during a rocket attack Saturday on the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, as cross-border skirmishes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah continued to flare. Fabian updates us on the conflict in the north. The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday it struck facilities belonging to the Syrian Army overnight in response to the launch of two drones from Syria at Israel's southernmost city of Eilat the day before. What do we know about the group behind the drones? The government will vote today on extending mandatory service for male Israel Defense Forces soldiers to three years, as well as women who serve in combat and some roles. Fabian explains the changes and talks about how the Defense Ministry is beginning to work on conscripting haredi men -- starting next month. For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: Netanyahu says ‘not absolutely certain' Deif killed, ‘cracks' appearing in Hamas IDF strike targets Hamas military chief Muhammad Deif; group claims at least 90 killed 4 IDF troops hurt, including 1 seriously, as north peppered with rockets and drones IDF says it hit Syrian military facilities in response to drones targeting Eilat Ministers to vote Sunday on extending male mandatory IDF service to 3 years Defense minister says IDF will start drafting ultra-Orthodox men next month Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.  IMAGE: Palestinians inspect the damage at a site hit by an Israeli operation targeting Hamas's shadowy military commander Mohammad Deif in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fluent Fiction - Hebrew: Rise of Valor: Ariel's Unyielding Spirit at the Navy Base Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.org/rise-of-valor-ariels-unyielding-spirit-at-the-navy-base Story Transcript:He: יום קיץ לוהט בבה"ד חיל הים באילת.En: A scorching summer day at the navy base in Eilat.He: השמש שוקעת באופק, והים האדום בוהק.En: The sun is setting on the horizon, and the Red Sea is glowing.He: הבסיס מלא פעילות, חיילים במדים לבנים נעים ממקום למקום.En: The base is full of activity, with soldiers in white uniforms moving from place to place.He: הספינות עוגנות בשקט במפרץ.En: The ships are quietly anchored in the bay.He: אריאל עומדת שם, עיניה נמשכות לים והיא מרגישה רוח קלילה מלטפת את פניה.En: Ariel stands there, her eyes drawn to the sea, feeling a gentle breeze caress her face.He: היא לבשה מדים חדשים ומצוחצחים והייתה בטוחה בעצמה.En: She wore new, polished uniforms and felt confident.He: זה היה טקס קבלת פנים לחיילים חדשים.En: This was a welcoming ceremony for new soldiers.He: הפקודות ניתנו, וכל החיילים התיישרו בשורות מסודרות.En: Commands were given, and all the soldiers lined up in orderly rows.He: המפקד הראשי, אלוף משנה גדי, החל לדבר.En: The commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Gadi, began to speak.He: "היום קיבלו אתכם לשורותינו.En: "Today, you have been accepted into our ranks.He: כל חייל כאן נדרש להוכיח עצמו.En: Every soldier here is required to prove themselves.He: האחריות עליכם כבדה, אך התמדה ונחישות יובילו להצלחה.En: The responsibility on you is heavy, but perseverance and determination will lead to success."He: "במהלך הנאום, אריאל הבחינה בחלק מהקצינים לוחשים ביניהם ומביטים בה בחשדנות.En: During the speech, Ariel noticed some of the officers whispering among themselves, eyeing her suspiciously.He: היא שמעה שמועה שהם חושבים שהיא צעירה מדי וחסרת ניסיון.En: She heard rumors that they thought she was too young and inexperienced.He: "אין מצב," חשבה לעצמה.En: "No way," she thought to herself.He: "אני אראה להם מי אני.En: "I'll show them who I am."He: "כשהאלוף משנה גדי הציע למתנדב משימה קשה, אריאל לא היססה.En: When Lieutenant Colonel Gadi called for a volunteer for a tough mission, Ariel did not hesitate.He: היא הרימה יד בביטחון.En: She raised her hand confidently.He: כולם פנו אליה בהפתעה.En: Everyone turned to her in surprise.He: גדי חייך באור קל וקרא לה לבמה.En: Gadi smiled faintly and called her to the stage.He: הוא הסביר לה שהיא צריכה לתפעל אסדת חילוץ לבד במים הרדודים ולבטיחות החיילים.En: He explained that she needed to operate a rescue raft alone in the shallow waters for the safety of the soldiers.He: בחום השמש הקופחת, אריאל יצאה לאסדה.En: Under the scorching sun, Ariel set out to the raft.He: היא זזה במהירות ובמיומנות, תוך שהיא שומעת את הקהל מרחוק.En: She moved quickly and skillfully, hearing the crowd from afar.He: היא הזכירה לעצמה לנשום עמוק ולשמור על קור רוחה.En: She reminded herself to breathe deeply and stay calm.He: היא ידעה שהעיניים של כולם עליה.En: She knew all eyes were on her.He: בעיניים עצומות, היא ראתה את דרכה והפעילה את הציוד בדיוק רב.En: With her eyes closed, she visualized her path and operated the equipment with precision.He: המאמץ היה קשה, אבל היא המשיכה.En: The effort was tough, but she persevered.He: לפתע, נשמע מחיאות כפיים ורעשים של עידוד מהקהל.En: Suddenly, applause and cheers erupted from the crowd.He: אריאל חזרה לבמה, מזיעה ועייפה, אבל עם תחושת גאווה מנצנצת בעיניה.En: Ariel returned to the stage, sweaty and tired, but with a glimmer of pride in her eyes.He: אלוף משנה גדי התקרב אליה.En: Lieutenant Colonel Gadi approached her.He: "עשית עבודה מצוינת!En: "You did an excellent job!"He: " הוא אמר בקול רם.En: he said loudly.He: "את ראויה להיות חלק מצוות חיל הים שלנו.En: "You deserve to be a part of our navy team."He: "הטקס נמשך, אבל אריאל הרגישה שעולם חדש נפתח בפניה.En: The ceremony continued, but Ariel felt a new world had opened up for her.He: היא לא רק הוכיחה למפקדיה שהיא ראויה, אלא גם לעצמה.En: She not only proved to her commanders that she was worthy, but also to herself.He: הרוח הימית הקרירה נגעה בעורה והיא חשה תחושת שייכות וביטחון.En: The cool sea breeze touched her skin, and she felt a sense of belonging and confidence.He: בסוף היום, היא חייכה לעצמה.En: At the end of the day, she smiled to herself.He: התחילה כאנקדוטה קטנה בבסיס הגדול, והפכה לחלק חשוב ומשמעותי במקהלת הים האדום.En: What started as a small anecdote at the large base turned into an important and significant part of the Red Sea chorus.He: ימים טובים יותר מחכים לה, עם ידע שהיא חלק מצוות הנועזים.En: Better days await her, knowing she is part of the brave team. Vocabulary Words:scorching: לוהטbase: בסיסbreeze: רוח קלילהcaress: מלטפתroutine: שגרהgentle: עדינהpolished: מצוחצחיםwelcoming: קבלת פניםceremony: טקסcommanding officer: המפקד הראשיranks: שורותינוresponsibility: אחריותperseverance: התמדהdetermination: נחישותvolunteer: מתנדבhesitate: להיססshallow: רדודיםprecision: דיוקraft: אסדהskillfully: במיומנותapplause: מחיאות כפייםcheers: רעשים של עידודsweaty: מזיעהpride: גאווהworthy: ראויהconfidence: ביטחוןanecdote: אנקדוטהchorus: מקהלהcool: קרירהbelonging: שייכותBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/fluent-fiction-hebrew--5818690/support.

Extension of reserve duty bill pulled from Knesset vote, Air Force intercepts UAV headed toward Eilat, woman indicted for hiring gunman to kill ex-husbandSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant headed to Washington this morning for a meeting that he calls “critical for the future of the war.” What are the main goals? The IDF confirmed that it shot down an apparent Hezbollah drone over the Lower Galilee. It was shot down by air defenses in an area that houses a major factory belonging to the Rafael defense contractor. Also overnight, Israeli fighter jets shot down a drone heading toward Israel from the eastern direction. The announcement comes after the Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed to have launched a drone at Israel's southernmost city of Eilat early this morning. On Saturday, the IDF struck several targets, including a Hamas military site in Gaza City's Shati neighborhood. Reports in Hebrew and Arabic media said the Shati attack targeted senior Hamas commander Raad Saad, head of Hamas operations. We hear who he is and the status of the fighting in the Gaza Strip. Also on Saturday, Israel said it had killed a top Hamas operative in Lebanon, Ayman Ghatma, who was responsible for supplying weapons to Hamas in Lebanon as well as to the al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya terror group. We hear about the tangled Lebanon-based overlap between Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. An Israeli civilian Amnon Muchtar, 67, of Petah Tikva was shot in his vehicle by unknown gunmen in the West Bank city of Qalqilya on Saturday and later died of his wounds. Fabian describes the incident, which is being labeled as a terror attack, and puts it into context with other recent conflicts in the area. For more updates, please check out The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: Heading to US, Gallant says meetings ‘critical for the future of the war' Israeli strike said to target Hamas operations chief Raad Saad in Gaza; unclear if he died IDF kills top Hamas man in Lebanon; US said to promise Israel full support if war erupts Israeli man shot and killed in his car in West Bank's Qalqilya in apparent terror IDF says it is investigating soldiers who tied Palestinian detainee to hood of car THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.  IMAGE: Israel Defense Forces operating in Gaza, June 22, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. It is day 241 of the war with Hamas. Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode. Dolev Yehud, 35, initially thought to have been taken hostage to the Gaza Strip by Hamas terrorists on October 7, was declared dead after his body was identified in Israel, the military said. Why now and what do we know about his death? The IDF said on Sunday that troops had recently begun to operate in the Yabna camp in central Rafah, adjacent to the border with Egypt. We earlier had reported that there are four Hamas battalions in Rafah. Fabian explains what we know about the operations as well as Hamas's capabilities right now. The IDF said it intercepted a surface-to-surface missile heading toward Israel from the direction of the Red Sea. We hear how the ballistic missile, apparently launched by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, affected Israel's southernmost city of Eilat. The Nahariya municipality announced that schools and educational institutions opened as usual, a day after a drone strike hit the city for the first time. Fabian dives into how these drones are more accurate than missiles and appears to be Hezbollah's weapon of choice for the moment. The war cabinet convened Sunday evening to discuss the proposal and its possible implementation, given international and domestic pressure to accept the deal aimed at securing the release of 120 hostages believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza since being kidnapped on October 7. Would the IDF welcome a temporary ceasefire? For more updates, please check out The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: Presumed hostage Dolev Yehud declared dead as remains identified in Israel Apparent Houthi ballistic missile fired at Eilat downed by Arrow system — IDF Gallant vows war won't end until Hamas is destroyed; IDF advances further in Rafah Determination and grit at a somber NYC Israel Day parade, led by families of hostages Claudia Sheinbaum wins election to become Mexico's 1st woman, 1st Jewish president Quietly Jewish scientist poised to win Sunday's Mexican presidential election THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.  IMAGE: IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip in a photo released for publication on June 3, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

IDF forces move into central Gaza, two drones intercepted over Gulf of Eilat, Labor Party votes for a new leaderSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Tues. May 28, 2024 special edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. The episode features our PANW report with dispatches on the targeting of Eilat by the Iraqi Resistance; Hezbollah has increased its attacks on the northern Occupied Territories in Palestine; Atlantic Magazine has been widely criticized over an essay on justifying the killing of children during an imperialist war; and the IOF massacre in Rafah has been roundly condemned internationally. During the second and third hours we listen to a rare archival audio file of a lecture by John G. Jackson on African Civilization.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. It is day 231 of the war with Hamas. Political reporter Tal Schneider and environment reporter Sue Surkes join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode. US House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will "soon" give an address to a joint session of Congress. Schneider wonders at Netanyahu's motivations for this speech and compares it to his previous House address. Likud members and members of Knesset are taking note of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant's recent challenge to Netanyahu's decision-making during the war. What is Schneider seeing about their “pragmatism”? In the first three months of the war, activity was at a low in the Knesset. But Schneider points out that with the declaration of war, the government was automatically accorded broad authorities with very little oversight. She brings us new research. About a year ago, a research team led by Tel Aviv University's Omri Bronstein found that the entire Black Sea urchin population living on coral reefs off the southern city of Eilat had been wiped out in weeks. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Surkes brings the full story. The State of Nature 2023, the tenth report of the National Ecosystem Assessment Program (“Maarag” in Hebrew), was published in the run-up to Wednesday's World Biodiversity Day. There's good news -- and a lot of bad news.  For the latest updates, please see The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: IDF recovers bodies of three hostages from north Gaza, who were killed on October 7 Netanyahu will ‘soon' address joint session of US Congress, House speaker announces Deadly pathogen that wiped out Eilat's sea urchins reaches Indian Ocean World Biodiversity Day report: Israel's butterflies, birds, reptiles in serious decline THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.  IMAGE: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks against the US-led international nuclear deal with Iran in 2015 before a joint meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 3, 2015. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

20 year old Shir Eilat, a commander in the Israeli army was on duty, guarding Kibbutz Nachal Oz when she and most of her unit's female soldiers were killed by Hamas terrorist on October 7th. Shir means “song” in Hebrew. Her family & community are determined to continue to keep Shir's magnetic spirit alive so that her song will play forever. Lior Lifshitz joins me to talk about her beloved best friend and shares some of their beautiful memories. Amidst tremendous grief,Lior describes Shir's heroism in protecting civilians, her enduring light and a few of the ways that Shir's family and friends are memorializing her impactful life - a life which exuded true courage, endless laughter and enormous love.For more, you can follow the show on Instagram @GraceforimpactpodcastProduced by Peoples Media Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. It is day 187 of the war with Hamas. Editor David Horovitz and military reporter Emanuel Fabian join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode. US President Joe Biden told Spanish television in an interview that he's urging “the Israelis to just call for” a six-to-eight-week ceasefire. Since most other demands made by the US last week in a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been implemented, is this one-sided pause also on the horizon? This week, Netanyahu said that he has circled a date in his calendar for the Rafah operation. But, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told US counterpart Lloyd Austin during a call on Monday that Israel has not set a date. Why the conflicting information? In a statement marking Eid Al-Fitr, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken highlighted the plight of Palestinians in the West Bank alongside Muslims suffering in some of the world's worst conflicts. And last week, United States Sen. Elizabeth Warren told a Boston mosque that Israel will be found guilty of genocide in the International Court of Justice. Do these remarks painting Israel as the oppressor represent mainstream Democrat thinking today? The IDF said this morning that Nahal Brigade soldiers are still battling Hamas gunmen in the central Gaza corridor. We hear how the massive troop drawdown is playing out on the ground in the Gaza Strip and are updated on large-scale humanitarian aid efforts. Early this morning, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Tehran will retaliate for Israel's alleged bombing of a building in Damascus earlier this month. Among the threats that Israel is taking seriously are cyberattacks, drone strikes and long-range missiles. Fabian explains. Fabian takes a look at the use of drones in the war so far, as well as a ship-mounted version of the Iron Dome missile defense system that intercepted a drone that entered Israeli airspace near the southernmost city of Eilat shortly before midnight on Monday.For the latest updates, please see The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: Live blog April 10, 2024 Biden urges Israel ‘to just call for' 6-8 week ceasefire, slams PM's handling of Gaza war Contradicting Netanyahu, Gallant told Austin no date set for Rafah op — source US Sen. Warren: World Court has ‘ample evidence' to find Israel guilty of genocide Cyberattacks by Iran, Hezbollah have tripled during the war, says Israel cyber czar In first, IDF says ship-mounted Iron Dome downs hostile drone over Eilat THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.  IMAGE: Israeli soldiers gather around army tanks stationed in an area along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on April 10, 2024. (Jack Guez / AFP)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Security-diplomatic cabinet to convene for update on Cairo talks on hostage release deal. Senior Hamas operative killed in Gaza air strike. IDF confirms that ship-mounted Iron Dome system intercepted drone that infiltrated Eilat area from the eastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A series of crazy events have been happening over the last few days in regard to Israel and Iran. Reports are saying the CIA gave Israel a 48 hour warning yesterday about a full scale Iranian attack, Israel is calling up Airforce reserves and deploying ballistic missiles to Eilat. Listen to the show to get an urgent update on all the latest developments.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Today is day 179 of the war with Hamas. Military reporter Emanuel Fabian and religions reporter Canaan Lidor join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode. Seven aid workers with the World Central Kitchen organization were killed in a strike on their vehicles in central Gaza late Monday after they helped deliver food and other supplies to northern Gaza that had arrived hours earlier by ship, the charity said Tuesday morning. The source of fire could not be independently confirmed but the IDF, the prime suspect, has expressed "sincere sorrow" and is conducting a probe. What do we now know? Israel is also suspected of carrying out an airstrike on Monday on a building next to Iran's embassy in Damascus that killed seven members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including the top Iranian commander in Syria. Who was the commander who was killed and what was his role? Early yesterday, the Israel Defense Forces withdrew from the Gaza City complex housing the Shifa Hospital, after a two-week raid in which the military said it detained or killed hundreds of terror suspects. What is the official tally according to the IDF? A drone, apparently launched from Iraq, struck a building in a naval base in Israel's southernmost city of Eilat early Monday morning, the Israel Defense Forces said. What role did Iran play? Much of the Christian world observed Easter this past weekend. Lidor attended events in Haifa and Jerusalem and shares a snapshot of the atmospheres at both locations, as well as the state of Christian Israelis in general. Hundreds, if not thousands of protesters, assembled Saturday night in Caesarea outside of the private residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Lidor sets the scene. For the latest updates, please see The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: Live blog April 2, 2024 Aid organization says 7 workers killed in Israeli strike in northern Gaza Iran's top commander in Syria killed in airstrike; Tehran blames Israel, vows revenge IDF ends Shifa Hospital raid, says it killed 200 terror operatives, arrested 500 more Eilat naval base damaged by drone apparently launched from Iraq In a still Jerusalem Old City, Easter pilgrims pray for peace amid fears of war Haifa Christians stage solemn Good Friday march in Hezbollah's crosshairs THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: People gather around the shell of a car used by US-based aid group World Central Kitchen, which was allegedly hit by an Israeli strike the previous day in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, April 2, 2024. (AFP)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prof. Eyal Zisser, an expert on Syria and Iran from Tel Aviv University, said that the killing - allegedly by Israel – of Iranian general Mohammad Reza Zahedi, along with his deputy, in Damascus was a message that Israel will go after Iranians anywhere in the world who encourage and support attacks on Israel. Zisser told reporter Arieh O'Sullivan that the Iranians don't have the military capabilities to strike Israel without Hizbullah or proxies like the Houthis in Eilat. (photo: SANA via AP)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The IDF announces additional losses on the battlefield, bringing the death tolls to 256 since the ground operation began; A UAV  launched from Iraq struck a building in Eilat, causing light damage. Thousands of demonstrators gather outside the Knesset in Jerusalem for a four-day protest calling for the government's resignation.  Israel Daily News website: https://israeldailynews.org Israel Daily News Roundtable: https://www.patreon.com/shannafuld Support our Wartime News Coverage: https://www.gofundme.com/f/independent-journalist-covering-israels-war Links to all things IDN:⁠ https://linktr.ee/israeldailynews⁠ Music: Hayati; Ariella Zeitlin https://open.spotify.com/album/0b1GTxbA8t3GWEueyJLUi3 --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/israeldailynews/support

Daily world news for April 1st 2024. World news coverage of everything but mostly coverage on the news in Gaza and the West Bank at this time. This daily world news covers the news in a quick manner so you can get on with your day. Each daily world news coverage will be less than ten mintues. Today's world news coverage stories are: AT&T had a data breach where millions of customers data was stolen. Wisconsin has primary elections in which the pro-Palestinian movement is pushing for an uncommited vote to send Biden a message.  Representative Tim Walberg of Michigan makes some horrible statement on Gaza. Thousands of Israeli's protested on Sunday against Netanyahu. A U.S. Airforce soldier is going on a hunger strike for Gaza. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq did a drone attack in Eilat, Israel. The United States and Israel are going to have a virtual meeting today to discuss Rafah. Netanyahu had a successful hernia surgery.  Netanyahu is attempting to shut down Al Jazeera in Israel. The IDF have left al-Shifa hospital. These U.S. and world daily news stories are the ones that are covered today. Thank you for listening to the daily world news coverage in less than ten minutes. My goal is to provide you daily U.S. news and daily world news so that you can get a lot of information in less than 10 minutes.

Daily world news for April 1st 2024. World news coverage of everything but mostly coverage on the news in Gaza and the West Bank at this time. This daily world news covers the news in a quick manner so you can get on with your day. Each daily world news coverage will be less than ten mintues. Today's world news coverage stories are: AT&T had a data breach where millions of customers data was stolen. Wisconsin has primary elections in which the pro-Palestinian movement is pushing for an uncommited vote to send Biden a message.  Representative Tim Walberg of Michigan makes some horrible statement on Gaza. Thousands of Israeli's protested on Sunday against Netanyahu. A U.S. Airforce soldier is going on a hunger strike for Gaza. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq did a drone attack in Eilat, Israel. The United States and Israel are going to have a virtual meeting today to discuss Rafah. Netanyahu had a successful hernia surgery.  Netanyahu is attempting to shut down Al Jazeera in Israel. The IDF have left al-Shifa hospital. These U.S. and world daily news stories are the ones that are covered today. Thank you for listening to the daily world news coverage in less than ten minutes. My goal is to provide you daily U.S. news and daily world news so that you can get a lot of information in less than 10 minutes.

Iran đã ‘cảnh báo cho Nga' trước vụ khủng bố ở Moscow; Quân Israel khỏi bệnh viện Al Shifa; Israel nói Eilat bị không kích; Bắc Kinh: Chính sách Philippines về Biển Đông không ảnh hưởng quyền hàng hải của TQ; TT Hàn Quốc kêu gọi các bác sỹ ngừng đình công.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Today is Day 151 of the war with Hamas. Zman Yisrael editor Biranit Goren and environment reporter Sue Surkes join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode. In a 24-page report yesterday, the United Nation's envoy on sex crimes during conflict told the UN that rape and gang rape likely occurred during the October 7 Hamas onslaught against southern Israel, that “clear and convincing” evidence shows that hostages were raped while being held in Gaza, and that those currently held captive are still facing such abuse. We talk about the methodology of the report and whether international women's groups will have some kind of reckoning in light of its findings. War cabinet minister Benny Gantz has been in the United States for the past several days meeting with Biden administration officials and is set to travel to London for similar meetings. Goren explains why this trip is an unusual move for a cabinet minister. For the first time in Israel's history, the IDF has appointed a woman to command an Israeli Air Force base. We hear about Lt. Col. “Gimmel.” The Energy Ministry is finalizing a potentially revolutionary plan, to be submitted to the government by March 18, to turn the Tekuma region along the Gaza border into a flagship for energy independence and renewable energy. This was unveiled at a conference in Eilat. What else did you hear at the conference? Children in the Negev Bedouin village of Elarara are learning in classrooms heated by a diesel generator, which emits carcinogenic fumes. We hear how this is now an isolated incident and what a Jewish-Arab NGO is trying to do about it. For the latest updates, please look at The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: Live blog March 5, 2024 UN finds evidence of rape on Oct. 7 and after; Israel: They tried to downplay issue Hosting Gantz, Harris balances praise of Israel with criticism over Gaza aid crisis For first time in Israel's history, IDF appoints woman commander of Air Force base THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE: Israelis visit the site of the Re'im music festival massacre in southern Israel, February 28, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Today is Day 142 of the war. Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode. The Israeli Navy's fleet of missile boats carried out “extensive” exercises, as the military prepares for potential war in the north while Israel warns that its patience for a diplomatic solution is running out. Is this drill performative or is Israel that much closer to war in the north? Early Thursday morning, Israel's long-range Arrow air defense system shot down a ballistic missile over the Red Sea, fired by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, the military said. How close was this to Eilat? On Thursday night, the IDF carried out a drone strike against a vehicle in the northern West Bank city of Jenin targeting a Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative reportedly on his way to carry out a terror attack. Fabian speaks about the uptick of airstrikes in the West Bank. This morning, the IDF said troops nabbed several terror operatives who attempted to hide among a group of civilians evacuating from combat zones in southern Gaza's Khan Younis. We hear how this is an ongoing challenge for the IDF. On Thursday, the IDF's Home Front Command declared it essentially safe to return to all communities located between four and seven kilometers (2.5-4.3 miles) from the border with Gaza, along with 18 communities even closer to the Strip, including some practically abutting the war-ravaged enclave. What does this tell us about the trajectory of the war in Gaza? For the latest updates, please look at The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: Live blog February 25, 2024 Hezbollah fires rockets, drone at Galilee as Israeli jets pounds southern Lebanon Israeli Navy carries out ‘extensive' drills in preparation for potential war in north Israel's Arrow intercepts Houthi ballistic missile headed for Eilat IDF says Jenin drone strike kills Islamic Jihad terrorist behind string of shootings IDF presses on with new Gaza City operation, 20 Hamas fighters killed in past day Army okays return to many communities near Gaza, including some where Hamas attacked THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Members of the northern town of Katzrin's emergency squad train with the IDF and Israel Police in a joint exercise, Katzrin, Golan Heights on November 20, 2024. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Danny and Derek are just the messengers. This week: in Gaza, ceasefire talks may be heating up again, America assesses the UNRWA allegations, and more (0:42); Yemen's Ansar Allah (Houthi) militants potentially sink a cargo ship, damage another ship, and attack Eilat (12:11); a potential governing coalition is formed in Pakistan (14:31); tensions between Taiwan and China over the Kinmen Islands (17:13); in Senegal, Macky Sall agrees to reschedule the election, but hasn't offered a new date yet (19:07); Somalia cuts new military deals with Turkey and the U.S. (21:19); Alexei Navalny dies in Russia (25:44); in Ukraine, the Russians take Avdiivka as we approach the second anniversary of the invasion (28:52); Hungary schedules a NATO ratification vote for Sweden (34:10); the ELN suspends peace talks in Colombia (35:06); the government of Ecuador backs out of a deal to send arms to Ukraine (38:35); and a New Cold War update featuring the restoration of panda relations between China and the U.S. (40:16).Note: the U.S. announced that it is imminently imposing new sanctions on Russia after the time of recording. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.americanprestigepod.com/subscribe

This week, on American Prestige: Danny and Derek are just the messengers. This week: in Gaza, ceasefire talks may be heating up again, America assesses the UNRWA allegations, and more (0:42); Yemen's Ansar Allah (Houthi) militants potentially sink a cargo ship, damage another ship, and attack Eilat (12:11); a potential governing coalition is formed in Pakistan (14:31); tensions between Taiwan and China over the Kinmen Islands (17:13); in Senegal, Macky Sall agrees to reschedule the election, but hasn't offered a new date yet (19:07); Somalia cuts new military deals with Turkey and the U.S. (21:19); Alexei Navalny dies in Russia (25:44); in Ukraine, the Russians take Avdiivka as we approach the second anniversary of the invasion (28:52); Hungary schedules a NATO ratification vote for Sweden (34:10); the ELN suspends peace talks in Colombia (35:06); the government of Ecuador backs out of a deal to send arms to Ukraine (38:35); and a New Cold War update featuring the restoration of panda relations between China and the U.S. (40:16).Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

AP correspondent Karen Chammas reports on a missile attack in the Gulf of Aden.

A conversation with Bruria Efune from Be'er Sheva, Israel about October 7th, the days and months that have followed, and the way time has stopped still. The heroes Bruria has met, the fierce helper she has become, and the ways we, too, can step up to help. Sensitive content, not suitable for young children. || Link to buy helmets for soldiers with PTSD: https://www.jgive.com/new/en/usd/donation-targets/121939 Link to join Bruria's WhatsApp group for updates: https://chat.whatsapp.com/Ew0lrRWmmR2LVC68YY3mKp Link to donate to Chabad of Eilat: https://causematch.com/eilat/ || To contact us or sponsor an episode of Human & Holy, email us at info@humanandholy.com.

IDF intercepts suspicious target in skies near Eilat. IDF hits Hezbollah targets in Lebanon after rocket fire on northern Israel. Events held to mark 1st birthday of Kfir Bibas, youngest hostage held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza Strip, demand captives' releaseSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Airley's made aliyah from the United States in 2006. Binyamin attended yeshiva, spent time in Eilat, and worked on the family's farm, including most Shabbats.   Binyomin Airley joined the front lines of the battle VS Hamas to secure the land of Israel and protect the Jewish people. He unfortunately was killed in battle.   At his shloshim, a moving kumzitz led by Shlomo Katz began with people singing softly in their seats and evolved into heartfelt t'filah with people standing and swaying, arm in arm, many with tears in their eyes. Jennifer interrupted the singing in the middle of a song and commented that she noticed too many sad faces in the room. She explained that this was not meant to be an evening of crying. It was meant to be an evening to honor Binyamin and open our hearts using songs for t'filah. She begged that people open the gates of Shamayim with t'filah b'simchah, even with the pain. Jennifer teaches by example how to keep going. She is leading the way and bringing her community along with her.    The Airley's Emunah and Bitachon has been on full display since Binyomin was suddenly killed in battle.    ►Ceremian (Alpert and Associates) Call Moshe Alpert!  Email: Moshe.alpert@nm.com for a free consultation, or head to https://bit.ly/moshealpert Or call 718-644-1594  _________________________________________ ►Collars and Co For the best-looking and most comfortable dress shirts in the world.. www.Collarsandco.com  Use promo code: Winter15 for 15% off all order $100+ _______________________________________________________  ►Town Appliance Visit https://www.townappliance.com Message Town Appliance on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/Townappliance_whatsapp  ________________________________________________ ►Mosaica Press Book of The Week Ready to unlock the secrets of family, faith, and freedom?
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Pick up your copy today and experience a new level of understanding and empowerment this Pesach.  To enter the Mosaica Book Give away of the week visit  https://mosaicapress.com/?sld=meaningfulminute and enter your email to be entered into this weeks Book Giveaway! The book is available for purchase at https://mosaicapress.com/?sld=meaningfulminute Use code Meaningful15 for 15% off any purchase! ___________________________________________________________ ► NO TALKING IN SHUL More than 1000 committed to not speak in shul on Shabbos Mornings for the entirety of Sefer Bereishis. Now is the time to commit for Sefer Shemos. Jump Onboard! Click to join the Group Kabbalah. https://chat.whatsapp.com/ICpRgSRdnFIJbWFYQwM0k8 ___________________________________________________________ ► Dream Raffle Enter the raffle now to win the prize of your dreams! https://thedreamraffle.com ___________________________________ Request to join Meaningful Minute Plus + https://chat.whatsapp.com/HzpRKhv88F38T1mUsFf99h ----------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to our Podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2WALuE2   Spotify: https://spoti.fi/39bNGnO   Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/MPPGooglePodcasts   Or wherever Podcasts are available! Editor: Sruly Saftlas Podcast created by: Meaningful Minute   For more info and upcoming news, check out: https://Meaningfulminute.org

This is the web version of Foreign Exchanges, but did you know you can get it delivered right to your inbox? Sign up today:Friends, for family reasons and also because of my own mental exhaustion I will be taking a longer than usual break from the newsletter for this year's Thanksgiving holiday. The newsletter will be going quiet following Thursday's roundup and will return to our regular schedule on Tuesday, November 28. As I've written before here I can always tell when it's time for me to take a bit of a break from the newsletter and the truth is we probably passed that point around three or four weeks ago so I'm running on fumes. Thanks for reading and for supporting this venture!TODAY IN HISTORYNovember 14, 1965: The Battle of Ia Drang, the first major engagement between the United States and the North Vietnamese Army, begins. It ended on November 18 with both sides claiming victory, though the NVA's ability to fight the much better armed US Army to a draw was a boost to their morale and probably the battle's most important effect.November 14, 2001: Fighters with the Northern Alliance rebel coalition enter and occupy the city of Kabul, marking the end of the US war in Afghanista—just kidding. I had you going there for a second, didn't I?INTERNATIONALWith deaths due to “extreme heat” projected to increase five-fold by 2050, according to The Lancet Countdown, you'll no doubt be pleasantly surprised to learn that an AP investigative report shows that the “green transition plans” being formulated by most major fossil fuel companies are not green, not transitional, and not even really plans. Without any serious government pressure to force them to invest in genuinely renewable technologies, these firms are able to do things like, say, classify natural gas development as a “green” investment. That's absurd, of course, but who's counting?The main problem with these plans has long been, and continues to be, the fact that fossil fuel companies exempt the products they sell when assessing their progress toward “net zero” carbon emissions. Firms only account for “Scope 1” emissions, which are their direct carbon outputs, and “Scope 2” emissions, the indirect output that results from their production process. The emissions that ensue when people burn the products they sell are considered “Scope 3” and energy firms disavow any responsibility for them. Like tobacco companies, they argue that what the customer does with their products is the customer's business, not theirs. Maybe people just want to buy a barrel of oil and place it in their foyer as a conversation piece or put it to some other use that doesn't emit carbon. Who's to say?MIDDLE EASTISRAEL-PALESTINEEarly Wednesday morning Israeli forces began what they called “a precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area in the Shifa hospital” involving “medical teams and Arabic speakers, who have undergone specified training to prepare for this complex and sensitive environment, with the intent that no harm is caused to the civilians.” There are hundreds of patients and thousands of other people who have been trapped in the hospital by the IDF and the chances that “no harm” will come to any of them in the next several hours are probably slim. Israeli officials have been insisting that Hamas's lair is located underneath the hospital but at this point it's too soon to know if that's the target or if this is a more limited operation. This is a developing story so there's not much more I can say about it at this time.What I can say is that the Biden administration gave a green light to this operation earlier in the day, when White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that the administration has “independent intelligence” (which is code for “we didn't get this from the IDF”) that “Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad use some hospitals in the Gaza Strip — including Al-Shifa — and tunnels underneath them to conceal and to support their military operations and to hold hostages.” According to Kirby this intelligence shows that the militant groups have a “command and control” center in Shifa and “have stored weapons there.” Kirby insisted that that the administration was not endorsing an Israeli attack on the hospital, but anybody with ears to hear or eyes to read what he said should have no doubt as to what the intent was.I wrote everything below prior to news of the Israeli assault breaking so some of it might no longer be relevant but I think most of it still is:Gazan health authorities said on Tuesday that some 40 patients at Shifa—three of them babies—have died since that facility ran out of generator fuel on Saturday. Without electricity the hospital cannot maintain its incubator units and so there are now 36 newborns who are at critical risk. With the IDF surrounding the hospital it's also become impossible to transfer the dead to a cemetery, so personnel are planning to bury some 120 bodies in a mass grave on site. Gazan officials have proposed evacuating the facility under the auspices of the Red Cross/Red Crescent and sending its remaining patients to Egypt but there had been no movement on that front at time of writing. The Israeli government has apparently offered to send the hospitals more incubators, a fascinating attempt at a humanitarian gesture that would be completely pointless because the problem isn't the incubators, it's the electricity.In other news:* David Ignatius at The Washington Post reported (I use that term loosely) on Monday that “Israel and Hamas are close to a hostage deal.” With the caveat that if David Ignatius told me the sky was blue I'd glance out the window to double check, the terms he reported are that Hamas would release (or facilitate the release) of the women and children that it and other Gazan militant groups took hostage during their October 7 rampage through southern Israel. This would be done in stages and be matched by the release of Palestinian women and children being held by Israeli authorities. It would also involve a ceasefire of unspecified duration but “perhaps five days” according to Ignatius. The ceasefire could allow some time to address humanitarian issues in Gaza though I don't know what that would entail and whatever it was would almost certainly be inadequate.* Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen met with International Committee of the Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger on Tuesday and later told reporters that the ICRC has had no access to the aforementioned hostages. It's highly unlikely that the Israelis would agree to anything involving hostages without at least proof of life, so this could be a big sticking point with respect to the potential prisoner deal outlined above. Families of the hostages, meanwhile, are marching from Tel Aviv to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem to pressure him to take some action to secure the hostages' release.* Israeli occupation forces killed at least eight Palestinians in the West Bank on Tuesday, seven of them in Tulkarm. The IDF carried out a drone strike in that city, an occurrence that's still relatively rare in the West Bank though it's certainly become more common over the past year and in particular the past month.* Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich issued a statement on Tuesday endorsing what he laughably termed the “voluntary emigration of Gaza Arabs to countries around the world.” I guess “leave or die” is a choice, right? A couple of Israeli politicians floated this idea on Monday in a Wall Street Journal editorial that was less a serious proposal than a written middle finger to Western critics of the Israeli military campaign. That piece didn't go into extensive detail about what a mass relocation would look like—again, it wasn't meant as a serious proposal—but Smotrich's intent is much easier to guess, and that's the permanent ethnic cleansing of Gaza and the relocation of its population as far away from Israel as possible. Smotrich, whose ministerial brief also includes running the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories office, isn't part of Netanyahu's “war cabinet” but that doesn't mean he's completely lacking in influence.* The US and UK governments on Tuesday announced new sanctions targeting Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad members along with a Lebanese entity that allegedly facilitates money transfers from Iran to Gazan militant groups. This is the third round of sanctions the Biden administration has imposed since October 7. Also on Tuesday, over 400 employees of the Biden administration sent a joint letter to their boss, Joe Biden, expressing opposition to the administration's approach to the Gaza conflict.YEMENHouthi rebels say they fired another barrage of missiles toward Israel on Tuesday. There's no confirmation of this, though the IDF did say that its air defenses downed a single missile near Eilat that we can probably assume was of Houthi provenance. The leader of Yemen's Houthi movement, Abdulmalik al-Houthi, delivered a speech on Tuesday pledging that his rebel fighters would continue attacking Israel. In particular, Houthi suggested that they could target Israeli commercial vessels in the Red Sea, which would certainly be an easier target for them than Israel itself.IRAQA Turkish drone strike killed two people, both allegedly members of the Sinjar Resistance Units militia, in northern Iraq's Nineveh province on Monday evening. The Sinjar militia was formed in 2014 with assistance from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and is still allied with that group, which makes its personnel potential targets for the Turkish military.Elsewhere, the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court removed two members of the Iraqi parliament on Tuesday, one of whom just happened to be speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi. It's not clear why, though another MP named Laith al-Dulaimi had reportedly sued Halbusi alleging that the speaker forged Dulaimi's name on a resignation letter. Dulaimi was, as it happens, the other MP who had his term ended by the court (I assume that's not a coincidence). The ruling created a potential political crisis for Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaʿ al-Sudani. As speaker, Halbusi was Iraq's leading Sunni Arab politician, and his support was important to Sudani's government. Three members of his Progress Party quit their cabinet posts after the court ruling and it remains to be seen how that will impact Sudani's position.ASIAAFGHANISTANAfghan Commerce Minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi apparently visited Pakistan this week, where—according to the Afghan government—he pressed Pakistani Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani on the issue of all those Afghan migrants the Pakistani government is presently deporting. Specifically it sounds like Azizi raised the issue of allowing deportees to at least take some of their money and/or possessions to Afghanistan with them. Deportees are currently arriving with nothing and are being housed in what are effectively refugee camps—leaving aside the incongruity of being a “refugee” in one's home country—on the Afghan side of the border.MYANMARReports on Monday only hinted at some new fighting in western Myanmar's Chin state, but as more details are emerging the situation there sounds pretty serious. According to the Chin National Front, rebel fighters had by the end of the day seized two Myanmar military outposts and were working to seize control of the Myanmar-Indian border. According to Indian media the fighting has sent some 2000 people streaming across that border to escape. In neighboring Rakhine state, the rebel Arakan Army has also been seizing military outposts and authorities have imposed a curfew in the state capital, Sittwe, as a result. Rebel factions across Myanmar have launched new offensives in recent weeks, starting with the “1027” (for October 27) operations by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army in Shan state. Myanmar's ruling junta is clearly struggling to mount a response.CHINAJoe Biden told reporters on Tuesday that his main goal in meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco this week is to restore “normal” communications between their governments. In particular this would involve a return to regular military-to-military contacts, something Beijing ended in the wake of former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan last year. Any prospect of resuming those contacts was complicated by the fact that former Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu was under US sanction. But as he's no longer defense minister that complication is no longer an issue.AFRICALIBERIALiberian voters turned out on Tuesday for the second round of that country's presidential election, pitting incumbent George Weah against Joseph Boakai. Both candidates finished with just under 44 percent of the vote in last month's first round. Such a close finish might augur poorly for the incumbent in a head to head matchup, though that's just one of many factors that could sway this vote in either direction. Polls have closed in that contest but I have yet to see anything by way of preliminary or partial results.MALIMali's ruling junta says its security forces have seized control over the northern town of Kidal after battling with rebels in that region for several days. The Malian military and mercenary auxiliaries marched on Kidal after United Nations peacekeepers vacated the region as part of their ongoing withdrawal from Mali. Kidal has been a rebel stronghold since the initial northern Mali uprising in 2012 and government control there has been nebulous at best since then. There's been no comment as far as I know from the rebels and it's unclear what their disposition is at this point.ETHIOPIAAccording to Addis Standard, Fano militia fighters attacked a predominantly Oromo community in Ethiopia's Amhara region last week, killing at least 25 people and displacing some 3000 into the Oromia region. The Fano militia is still battling the Ethiopian government but Amhara paramilitary groups have also made a pastime of preying on ethnic Oromo communities (likewise, Oromo militias have preyed on ethnic Amhara). In this case they apparently demanded grain from the community and attacked after residents refused to comply.On a more upbeat note, the US Agency for International Development is reportedly planning to resume food distribution across Ethiopia next month under a “one-year trial period.” The agency suspended its Ethiopian food program earlier this year amid allegations that the aid was being diverted. It resumed providing food aid to Ethiopian refugees last month and is now planning to spend the next year testing whether procedural changes adopted by aid groups and the Ethiopian government are enough to stop that alleged diversion. Solid data is hard to come by but it's possible that hundreds or thousands of Ethiopians have died because of the decision (which the UN World Food Program joined) to suspend food aid.DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGOThe death toll from Sunday's Allied Democratic Forces attack on a village in the eastern DRC's North Kivu province has risen to 33, according to provincial officials. ADF fighters are also believed to have been responsible for attacking a village in neighboring Ituri province on Tuesday, killing at least 11 people.EUROPERUSSIAVladimir Putin signed a new law on Tuesday that permits elections to be held even in parts of Russia that are under martial law. This apparently clears the way for the portions of Ukraine that Moscow claims to have annexed to participate in next year's presidential election. The effect will be to try to stitch those regions a little more tightly to Russia and complicate any possible return to Ukrainian authority.UKRAINEThe European Union promised back in March to supply the Ukrainian military with 1 million 155 mm artillery shells within 12 months. You'll never guess how that went. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told a meeting of EU defense ministers on Tuesday that the bloc isn't going to fulfill its commitment and even went so far as to criticize the fact that it was made in the first place. The will was apparently there, but EU member states still don't have the collective capacity to churn out that many shells that quickly. The effort has apparently sparked a boost in production capacity but not enough to meet the 12 month deadline.SWEDENSweden's NATO accession may be moving slightly forward, as the Turkish parliament's foreign affairs committee will take up the issue on Thursday. It's been about three weeks since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan submitted Sweden's accession to parliament and it should be clear by now that the folks in Ankara are in no particular hurry to work their way through that process. There may be some impetus on the part of other NATO members to have the issue resolved in time for the alliance foreign ministers summit on November 28, but Erdoğan has proven himself to be fairly impervious to that sort of pressure in the past.AMERICASUNITED STATESFinally, TomDispatch's William Hartung wonders whether the “Arsenal of Democracy” really cares all that much about the “democracy” part:The list of major human rights abusers that receive U.S.-supplied weaponry is long and includes (but isn't faintly limited to) Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Turkey, Nigeria, and the Philippines. Such sales can have devastating human consequences. They also support regimes that all too often destabilize their regions and risk embroiling the United States directly in conflicts.U.S.-supplied arms also far too regularly fall into the hands of Washington's adversaries. As an example consider the way the UAE transferred small arms and armored vehicles produced by American weapons makers to extremist militias in Yemen, with no apparent consequences, even though such acts clearly violated American arms export laws. Sometimes, recipients of such weaponry even end up fighting each other, as when Turkey used U.S.-supplied F-16s in 2019 to bomb U.S.-backed Syrian forces involved in the fight against Islamic State terrorists.Such examples underscore the need to scrutinize U.S. arms exports far more carefully. Instead, the arms industry has promoted an increasingly “streamlined” process of approval of such weapons sales, campaigning for numerous measures that would make it even easier to arm foreign regimes regardless of their human-rights records or support for the interests Washington theoretically promotes. These have included an “Export Control Reform Initiative” heavily promoted by the industry during the Obama and Trump administrations that ended up ensuring a further relaxation of scrutiny over firearms exports. It has, in fact, eased the way for sales that, in the future, could put U.S.-produced weaponry in the hands of tyrants, terrorists, and criminal organizations.Now, the industry is promoting efforts to get weapons out the door ever more quickly through “reforms” to the Foreign Military Sales program in which the Pentagon essentially serves as an arms broker between those weapons corporations and foreign governments.Thanks for reading! Foreign Exchanges is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.foreignexchanges.news/subscribe

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 15-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Today is day 39 of the war. Zman Yisrael editor Biranit Goren and reporter Gavriel Fiske join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode. As of this morning, 46 IDF soldiers have fallen during the ground operation in Gaza, and last night, the IDF confirmed that a woman who was pregnant when captured has presumably given birth. Goren updates on what we know about the hostages. The IDF revealed what it said was proof that the basement of a Gaza City children's hospital was used by the Hamas terror group to hide arms and possibly hold hostages kidnapped on October 7. But Goren explains why time may be running out on the ground operation. Fiske discusses new pop-up educational solutions for the children of the internally displaced throughout Israel. There are about 15,000 refugee students in Eilat alone.  And finally, we hear about US cowboys who have come to volunteer on farms -- in the wild West Bank.  For the latest updates, please look at The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: Live blog November 14, 2023 IDF: Hamas operated command center, likely held hostages under Gaza kids' hospital Israel, Hamas near deal to release some 70 women and children held hostage – report Woman abducted to Gaza on Oct. 7 has likely given birth in captivity — officials Cowboys of the wild West Bank: The visiting US volunteers who ‘own guns, love Israel' THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts. IMAGE: A tunnel shaft found by IDF forces leading to underneath Gaza City's Rantisi Hospital, in a photo released by the military on November 13, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 15-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan in today's special one-on-one episode. We are on day 35 of the war with Hamas and as of this morning, 36 IDF soldiers have been killed during the ground operation in Gaza. Fabian describes how in the past several days, the IDF has continued to achieve its goals inside the Gaza Strip and has reached near the Shifa Hospital, which the IDF has said is the headquarters of the terror group. The IDF has completed airstrikes in Syria after a drone attacked a school in Eilat, Israel's southernmost city. What's the connection? The Palestinian Authority has claimed that 14 Palestinians were killed in recent Jenin clashes. What is happening here? And we hear updates on continued tit-for-tat fighting in the north. Fabian journeyed inside the Gaza Strip with the IDF's Combat Engineering Corps. We hear about proverbial monsters under a child's bed and a portal into a dark world. For the latest updates, please look at The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: Live blog November 10, 2023 IDF says it's fighting gunmen in Gaza City's ‘military quarter' near Shifa Hospital IDF strikes Syria in response to drone attack on Eilat school Palestinian Authority says 14 killed in Jenin clashes with IDF Arrow intercepts missile headed to Eilat; drone of unclear origin hits school in city Inside a Gaza bedroom, soldiers searching for tunnels find how low Hamas can go THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts. IMAGE: Damaged buildings are seen in the northern Gaza Strip, as an IDF armored D9 bulldozer flattens land, November 7, 2023. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 15-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Military reporter Emanuel Fabian and reporter Canaan Lidor join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode. Today is the 28th day of the war with Hamas and the IDF announced it had encircled Gaza City last night. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has landed in Israel to ask for humanitarian pauses in the fighting. What are we hearing from Israeli officials? The Reuters news service has reported that the US is flying surveillance drones over the Gaza Strip to help gather intelligence on the locations of hostages taken by Hamas. Next, we turn to Israel's northern border, which has heated up over the past few days ahead of a planned speech by Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah. We cast the spotlight on a battle overnight Wednesday-Thursday with intense and chaotic fighting that raged for over three hours following an ambush targeting soldiers from the Golani Brigade's 13th Battalion. Lidor reports on how European Jewry is faring during the Israel-Hamas war and discusses the Dagestan airport attempted "pogrom" on Sunday. Lidor spent several days in the refuge city of Eilat this week and reports back on the incredible encounters he experienced there. For the latest updates, please look at The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: Live blog November 3, 2023 Israeli troops roll into Gaza City as ground offensive intensifies, IDF toll rises IDF releases radio recording, footage of troops fending off Hamas ambush in Gaza Hezbollah's Nasrallah to break silence as Lebanon border skirmishes intensify Rocket from Lebanon strikes Kiryat Shmona as fighting ramps up on northern border Different this time: On Israel trip, UK Jewish leaders share grief and deep concern Pro-Hamas sentiment shocks European Jews, rekindling fears about their future In Europe, soaring antisemitism popularizes a new invention: The camouflaged mezuzah Rioters storm airport in Russia's Dagestan in hunt for Jews aboard flight from Israel For displaced families, Eilat's charms are a painful reminder of a life pierced by war THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts. IMAGE: Israeli artillery stationed near the Israeli-Gaza border, in southern Israel, November 2, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 15-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Zman Yisrael editor Biranit Goren and military reporter Emanuel Fabian join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode. It is day 26 of the war. We begin with the names of the fallen soldiers from yesterday's heavy fighting in the northern Gaza Strip and hear about the operations in which they fell. Yesterday, the Arrow air defense system intercepted a surface-to-surface missile launched from Yemen. It was the first operational use of the long-range system during the war with Hamas. We hear about what else we are seeing from the Houthis and an increased IDF presence on the Red Sea. Fabian updates on continued Hezbollah aggression along the northern border. Finally, foreign passport holders are reportedly leaving the Gaza Strip via the Rafah border crossing in a deal reportedly brokered by Qatar. How involved is the IDF in such openings and closings? Goren describes how one fallen soldier, Lavi Lipschitz, moved her and why. Goren gives us a slice of what it is like to be an Israeli watching the anti-Israel protests rife around the world even as the country battles on several fronts. For the latest updates, please look at The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: Live blog November 1, 2023 Israel says 10 soldiers killed in battles deep inside Gaza, as military toll mounts 2 IDF soldiers killed in Gaza as troops take Hamas post, kill commander, 50 terrorists In first, Arrow downs Eilat-bound missile from ‘Red Sea area'; Houthis claim attack THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts. IMAGE: Detail from 'Warriors' Rest,' a photograph taken by Staff Sgt. Lavi Lipshitz on August 17, 2023. Lipshitz was killed in fighting in the Gaza Strip on October 31, 2023. (Instagram till_when_photo_diary)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are a lot of experts that you may have heard on the news in the past few weeks. People who know a great deal about Hamas or Hezbollah or Iran or China or Russia—regional experts. There are also many subject matter experts who can tell us about cyber warfare or decolonization or, for example, the way that foreign governments have influenced higher education in America. All of those stories are important, but each one of those topics gives you only a slice of the whole story. What if you want to understand the whole thing? That's when you turn to Walter Russell Mead. Mead, who is a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, a professor of foreign affairs and humanities at Bard College, and the author of many profound books, is able to connect what can seem like disparate dots and pull them together to show us the big picture. That's especially critical right now. Because despite what you read in the headlines, this isn't just a war between a terrorist group called Hamas and a small Jewish country called Israel. This is the bleeding edge of something much more widespread that has the potential to touch the lives of every American.  Right after we recorded this conversation with Walter, Yemen declared war on Israel—with Houthi rebels firing missiles at the city of Eilat—and, in a major provocation from China, Israel was removed from Baidu Maps, China's digital maps, late on Monday night. Though I didn't get to talk to Walter about these discrete developments, in many ways they confirm exactly what Walter expresses in this conversation: that this war isn't just a regional conflict. That it is representative of a world, as he puts it, “spinning out of control.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 15-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Military reporter Emanuel Fabian and senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode. We are in day 20 of the war and the IDF says that overnight it carried out a “targeted raid” in the northern part of the Gaza Strip with infantry forces and tanks. Fabian elaborates. Hamas launched a massive barrage of rockets toward central and southern Israel on Wednesday evening, lightly wounding six people, following several days with fewer missiles fired from Gaza. We also heard about missiles launched toward Eilat. Fabian explains what this means and addresses what's happening on the northern border and in the West Bank. Rights groups are saying Israeli settlers in the West Bank have committed over 100 assaults against Palestinians since the start of Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, sometimes under the protection of soldiers. Rettig Gur gives perspective. For the latest updates, please look at The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: Live blog October 26, 2023 IDF tanks, troops briefly push into Gaza Strip ahead of ground offensive 6 lightly hurt in rocket barrage from Gaza toward central, southern Israel Settlers rampage through Palestinian olive grove, harass activists in West Bank Rights group reports over 100 assaults by settlers on Palestinians since war's start THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts. IMAGE: Israeli reserve soldiers seen in the Golan Heights during a military training before heading to the Israeli-Gaza border, on October 25, 2023. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At 6:30 a.m on October 7, 2023, Renana Gomeh's life changed forever when Iran-backed Hamas terrorists stormed her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz and took her two sons, ages 12 and 16, hostage. She has not heard from them since, knows nothing about the conditions they're held in, or whether they're still alive. Listen to Renana's painful account of what happened two weeks ago, how she is coping, and her mission to bring them home.  American Jewish Committee (AJC) and more than 110 Jewish organizations have urged the United Nations and all governments to secure the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages. Take action to bring her sons home now. *The views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views or position of AJC.  Episode Lineup:  (0:40)  Show Notes: Listen – People of the Pod on the Israel-Hamas War: What Biden's Wartime Visit to Israel Signals to Hamas, Iran, Hezbollah Mai Gutman Was Supposed to Be at the Music Festival: IDF Lone Soldier Recounts Harrowing Week Responding to Hamas Terror: IsraAID CEO on How You Can Help Israelis Right Now Learn: What is Known About Israeli Hostages Taken by Hamas AJC.org/AttackonIsrael  Donate: AJC.org/SupportIsrael Follow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org If you've appreciated this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. ___ Transcript of Interview with Renana Gomeh: Manya Brachear Pashman:   Over 200 hostages are being held by the Iran backed terror group Hamas after its terrorist attack against Israel and the massacre of over 1400 Israelis on October 7. American Jewish Committee and more than 110 Jewish organizations from more than 40 countries have urged the United Nations and all governments to secure the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages. The condition of many of the hostages remains unknown, yet we know some are in dire need of urgent medical care. With me to discuss her efforts to bring back her 12 year old and 16 year old sons is Renana Gomeh. Renana, thank you for joining us.  Renana Gomeh:   Thank you so much for having me. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Now, your two sons were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz by Hamas terrorists on October 7. You were on the phone with your sons, as Hamas terrorists were breaking into your home. I cannot imagine what you've been going through over the past 2 weeks. Could you please tell listeners what happened that morning at 6:30am? Renana Gomeh:   Yes, I was on another kibbutz that Saturday morning, with my spouse. I have a partner living on another kibbutz in another community near the Gaza border, which is 15 minutes drive away. And I'm divorced, and my ex-husband lives 400 meters away from me. He's also a member of my kibbutz, of my community. And the boys just usually sleep at my place. You know, this is how they prefer it. And since they're not very young children anymore, we let them choose. So they were alone at home.  And he was at his place with his girlfriend, with his partner, who I love to bits. And about 6:30 in the morning, we all woke up to the red alert, which is unfortunately something which became a routine and we're used to. Since I was also on our kibbutz on the Gaza border, all communities at the Gaza border had red alerts and rockets flying over, hundreds of rockets flying over on a completely surprise attack. We just didn't see it coming whatsoever. I called my boys as I was running to the safe room at the place I was in to make sure that they're in the safe room at my place. And as the safe room is the eldest son's bedroom, he was there but he made sure that his little brother was also there. So they were in the safe room. And every couple of minutes I spoke to them to see that they were okay.  At a certain point they said they're starting hearing gunshots outside the house and I could hear gunshots outside the house I was in. Again, it was a completely well-planned and well-executed attack on all communities at the same time. So no one could go outside.  And I told them it was probably the army defending them. You know, they're keeping us safe. 30 minutes later or so I can't remember. I've lost track of time to be honest, of that morning. We started getting text messages from other members of the community saying terrorists are walking outside freely, breaking into houses, trying to get people out. I was begging neighbors and people from the community to go and see, to go and see them, go and be with them. You know, try and help them. But no one could go outside. And there were probably over 100 terrorists walking around, getting into houses. So there was not a chance that anyone could help.  At a certain point I asked my elder brother, who's also a member of the community, to call my eldest [son] and tell him how to lock the door. The doors don't lock in a safe room because the safe rooms were planned against missiles and rocket attacks and against earthquakes. So they actually want you to have the door been able to open from the outside, so they can take you out. So they don't lock. But you know, there's certain technical ways to try and keep them locked. So I asked him to call my eldest and tell him how to do it. And then I later found out that he held the door like hell. And he fought for that door. But it didn't make it. And about an hour later, about two hours after the attack started, they called me and said, they hear someone breaking in. Breaking the door, breaking in, walking in the house.  And a couple of minutes later, I could hear Arabic speaking outside. The door opens. And my youngest said, Please don't take me, I'm too young. He was always good at manipulation. This time it didn't work. And they took them. That was the last I've heard from them. It's almost two weeks now. And I've nothing, I've heard nothing. I know nothing of their whereabouts. I know nothing about the conditions they're held in, whether they eat, whether they sleep, and whether they're still alive. Manya Brachear Pashman:   I'm so sorry to make you relive that. But I also know that it's important that you share your story with the wider world.  Renana Gomeh It is, it is. I know. This is all I can do at the moment, you know. And so it means a lot to me that you're actually giving me the platform. Because what I need your audience to do is to enlist to the effort to get them released now. To get my boys home alive now. They shouldn't be there. They take children hostage, 80 people out of our small community, which only is about 400 people. 80 people were taken hostage from the age of six months to the age of 86. People who need medicine, people who need medical care. It's just plain children that need a mother.  I later found out that my ex-husband and his girlfriend were also taken hostage from their house. My hope is that they've met and they're together. As 80 people were taken my hope is that someone that they know is with them, to support them and to help them. That's the story you know. As a mother to other mothers, just trying to imagine it was your child being kept there. Just for one hour, let alone 13 days. My heart goes out to every mother even in the Gaza Strip. You sometimes get in the news in Israel, you sometimes get news like a 14 year old terrorist was killed tonight at a terror attack and I always my heart goes out to them and I say you know he's 14, he's someone's child. But what kind of a mother raises such monsters? Manya Brachear Pashman:   Of course, listeners who are hearing this can go to AJC.org/BringThemHome to send a letter to the United Nations, send a letter to Congress to demand swift action to release the hostages. I know that you are pushing for swift action to release your sons and the other hostages. Who have you met with, who have you talked to about bringing your sons home and what can be done?  Renana Gomeh:   Well I've met anyone who was willing to meet me. I was mainly trying to get the media, international media to hear my voice and to get people around the world to hear us. I think the international community has a lot of tools and there's many ways you can help by just by putting pressure, as you just suggested, by putting the right pressure in the right places, in order to release them. Obviously I want all of them to be released, there's over 200 people kept in the Gaza Strip, as far as we know, I think there's more. But, you know, it's not for me to say. What we need you to do is to approach your governments. And ask them to release those civilians that are held. We don't even know, again, in what conditions and especially released those 40 or so children. Children under the age of 18, from babies to teenagers. They're not part of this game. I'm sorry. They are not bargain chips in the war game. Get them free now without any conditions whatsoever. I can't see how anyone can think otherwise. It's just plain and simple. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Renana, are you getting any explanations or theories from diplomats, people that you're speaking with, on why they're holding your sons and other children like this? Renana Gomeh:   To be honest, until two weeks ago, I saw us as neighbors. And I thought there was mutuality between us, you know, that we could have a future together. Those two people have a mutual economy, have mutual relations, even have mutual cultures. But I don't think we do. I can't even try and get into these terrorists' heads and the way they think, because what they did is not just taking soldiers hostages in order to bargain them, to trade them, for prisoners. What they did was to rape and decapitate and murder, just for the sake of fun.  They came in, had cameras, to have this horror filmed, and put on Facebook and on TikTok. So I can't even begin to try and understand but I reckon they probably want to bargain them for the prisoners, which as far as I'm concerned…I don't care. I think the actions they took cannot be justified in normal rules of war. I can't, I can't explain. It's not for bargaining. It's for fun.  Manya Brachear Pashman:   Are you being told there are limits to what diplomats can do or is anyone telling you their hands are tied, or are you getting unequivocal unbridled assurance that everything is being done? Renana Gomeh:   I'm not really told anything at the moment, but I'm not an expert. I understand that not everything can be told. If there are efforts being done, which I hope there are, they can't share it with 200 families. My hopes are that anyone with the right mind understands that this situation can not go on. And the children cannot stay held by terrorists for not even one hour, let alone a day or a month. And that has to be over, no matter what. I don't care if the war still goes on after. I don't believe there's any other way to get them released, but diplomatic pressure. I think this is the way to do it. But I'm not sure there's anyone to negotiate with. So you know, the other side is so different to us. And their morales are so different from ours, apparently. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Are you traveling places to meet with government officials, and do those government officials include Israel, America, beyond that? Renana Gomeh:   I'm willing to do anything to get my kids back home. And to get everyone's kids back home. I have another daughter, my eldest, who's 21, who was also in Nir Oz at that horrible, horror day. And who's traumatized. Thank God, her boyfriend was around and held the door. And luckily, they got out alive but very, very deeply scarred. And I have to take that into consideration while making decisions about traveling far away. But I'm doing my best by Zoom. I'm trying to get my voice heard in any way I can, under those conditions. And I still have her to think of, she's all I have at the moment. So she deserves her mother to be around. Even [if] she's willing for me to do anything to get her father and her brothers back. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Where are you staying now? Renana Gomeh:   We've been evacuated to a beautiful hotel suite in Eilat. My boys love Eilat. I was here with them two months ago on summer vacation. It took me years after I got divorced to get to this point where I can take them to a summer holiday on my own. So it was very meaningful also. So I'm finding it very very hard to walk around in Eilat. But everyone from my–what's left of my community of what was Nir Oz–everyone were evacuated to this hotel and we found it very important to be together.  This community, you know, it's like a big family to us. This is why we decided to stay here with them. It's very hard because it's very far away from everywhere in Israel. I know for people in the States internal flights seem like a normal bus. But for us, it's not. But at least it feels safe-ish. I don't think anyone who's now staying here could bear even one more alarm.  People ran for their lives, people fought terrorists. People jumped out of burning houses, people fell out of windows, people were hiding in bushes, people were faking themselves dead. There's not even a… I can't even start to describe, you know, for me, the horror was the fact that my children were taken away. But other people experienced horrors themselves. So we're here with our big family, the kibbutz, trying to recover from ashes. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Much of the world's attention is on what's going on now in Gaza. What do you have to say to journalists who are covering this war? Renana Gomeh:   The last thing I want, as a human being, as a mother, as a woman–if we were to run the world, it wouldn't happen. Just saying. But the last thing I would have wanted is war. You know, we've had so many in the last few years. This is the last thing we need. This is the last thing the Gaza people need. People in Gaza are used as human shields, even their children, like I said, terrorists who are 14. Terrorists, they're children, why are they carrying guns? Why are their summer camps, teaching them how to use guns and to become terrorists? My heart goes out to every mother there. And I wish we didn't have to have a war. And I wish we could live a better life. And I think the people in Gaza had that chance. We walked out of the Gaza Strip 20 years ago, took villages, complete villages out. And it was a very difficult action to do in Israel. Which, you know, we still bleed on it nowadays, politically and socially.  And we gave them the opportunity to become an independent state. And they gave the keys to a terrorist organization, which uses all the money that the EU and whoever is giving them in order to weaponize themselves and in order to become terrorists and to educate their children to become terrorists.  I used to tell my children all the time: your life is so much better than children in Gaza. You have education, you have running water, you have electricity. And you have the morals that the Jewish world gives to their children: of equality, of mutuality, of giving away from yourself and no wish to get something in return.  The other side does the opposite. We treasure life as Jews and they treasure death. So I'm sorry, but my sympathy is gone. I want my children back home, now, alive. Afterwards, we can speak about having a war or not having a war, the conditions they're in, the humanitarian solutions. But the world should know that what happens there is not an independent state. It's a terrorist organization, holding civilians, hostages. Their own civilians. My heart goes out to every child and every mother there. It's not their fault. Manya Brachear Pashman:   Thank you so much for sharing your perspective, sharing your family's story. And I am praying and we are all doing everything we can to help you get your sons and the other hostages home. And I pray that that happens very soon. Thank you so much for joining us. Renana Gomeh:   I just want them–I just want my boys back home alive now and I want you to help us do it in any way you can. Thank you so much for having me. Manya Brachear Pashman:   If you would like to help make a difference, go to AJC.org/BringThemHome. There you can urge the United Nations and members of Congress to secure the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages being held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza.