Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs

Policy, diplomacy & communications center (prev. JCPA).
📨 Daily Alert Updates:

[Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs @jerusalemcenter]

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The Palestinian Authority Is Trying to Erase the Jewish Connection to the Cave of the Patriarchs

Lt. Col. (res.) Adv. @MauriceHirsch4, Senior Researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, warns that the Palestinian Authority is waging a systematic campaign against the Jewish people's historical and religious connection to the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. According to Hirsch, through diplomatic, legal, and public advocacy efforts in international forums, the PA seeks to portray the holy site as exclusively Palestinian and Islamic, while erasing thousands of years of Jewish history.

Hirsch stresses that Israel must not only protect the site physically but also confront attempts to rewrite its history. He argues that the Cave of the Patriarchs is one of the central pillars of Jewish identity, and that the struggle over its status reflects the broader battle over the legitimacy of the Jewish presence in the Land of Israel. “Abandoning historical truth means abandoning national rights,” he concludes.

[Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs @jerusalemcenter]

לילה דרמטי במפרץ: ארה"ב פוצצה מכלית איראנית, טהראן הגיבה במטח טילים

חוקר המרכז הירושלמי לענייני חוץ וביטחון, יוני בן מנחם @BwMnhm מסביר: "האירועים במהלך הלילה מוכיחים כי האיראנים בוחנים את האמריקנים כדי לראות עד כמה הם נחושים ליישם את המצור הימי".

[Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs @jerusalemcenter]

HAS IRAN LOST ITS DETERRENCE POWER?

Outgoing Mossad chief David Barnea is urging Israel to continue pursuing regime change in Tehran, arguing that Iran is at its weakest point in years.

At the same time, a new analysis by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies concludes that U.S. and Israeli strikes have severely damaged Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal and its ability to produce new missiles, marking the most significant setback to Iran’s missile program in decades.

Also in today's Daily Alert: Hamas is concerned that a future U.S.-Iran agreement could leave Gaza outside the equation, while Hizbullah continues rebuilding with roughly $1 billion in Iranian funding.

👉 Read the full edition >> https://t.co/pcA9BlM8Kz

[Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs @jerusalemcenter]

הראיון המלא >> https://t.co/fh6mgnJiQl

[Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs @jerusalemcenter]

אנליסטית איראן: המשטר החזיר את האינטרנט גם בגלל הלחץ הכלכלי

סוגנד פאחרי @sogandsf, אנליסטית במרכז הירושלמי לענייני חוץ וביטחון, אומרת כי להחלטת המשטר האיראני להחזיר חלקית את הגישה לאינטרנט לאחר עשרות ימי ניתוק יש גם מניע כלכלי ברור. בתגובה לשאלתו של תא״ל (מיל׳) חנן גפן, לשעבר מפקד יחידה 8200, הסבירה כי עסקים רבים באיראן תלויים כיום בתקשורת מקוונת ובמסחר דיגיטלי. "הרבה איראנים מתעסקים בסחר אונליין, כמו בכל העולם, ולכן לניתוק ממושך יש מחיר כלכלי כבד", אמרה.

עם זאת, פאחרי מדגישה כי השיקול הכלכלי אינו עומד לבדו. לדבריה, המשטר האיראני מודע מאוד לדעת הקהל במערב ומנסה לשדר תדמית מתונה ואנושית יותר בעיצומו של המשבר. "מאוד חשוב לרפובליקה האסלאמית להיראות אנושית, למרות אופיו האכזרי של המשטר", היא אומרת. לדבריה, החזרת האינטרנט נועדה לא רק להקל על הלחץ הפנימי, אלא גם לשפר את תדמית המשטר כלפי חוץ בזמן שהמו״מ עם המערב נמשך.

[Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs @jerusalemcenter]

Read @SuzanQuitaz's analysis: https://t.co/7QTAG0y8La

[Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs @jerusalemcenter]

85 YEARS SINCE THE FARHOUD

For more than 2,500 years, Jews lived in Iraq. Baghdad was once one of the most Jewish cities in the world, home to a thriving Jewish community and a center of Jewish learning.

Then, on June 1-2, 1941, the Farhoud pogrom changed everything.

The violence in Baghdad marked a turning point for a community that had existed since the Babylonian exile. Within a generation, one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world had virtually disappeared.

Today, little remains of that once vibrant civilization.

Read @SuzanQuitaz's analysis in the comments.

[Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs @jerusalemcenter]

Read the full analysis >> https://t.co/rd6U5s4yfz

[Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs @jerusalemcenter]

HAMAS IN PANIC: A TRUMP-IRAN DEAL COULD LEAVE GAZA BEHIND

Yoni Ben Menachem @BwMnhm, Senior Researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, reveals that Hamas is increasingly concerned that the emerging agreement between Washington and Tehran will completely bypass the Gaza issue. According to assessments within the organization, a deal focused on Lebanon, the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran’s nuclear program could remove many of the strategic constraints currently limiting Israel and allow it to concentrate its full military power on Gaza.

Ben Menachem notes that Hamas is closely monitoring the U.S.-Iran negotiations and fears a scenario in which Lebanon receives security arrangements and regional stability while Gaza remains outside any diplomatic framework. According to him, Hamas also worries that international attention will shift toward regional de-escalation and diplomatic achievements, giving Israel greater freedom to intensify military pressure in the Strip and advance long-term plans to reshape Gaza’s future.

[Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs @jerusalemcenter]

WE UNDERESTIMATED JIHAD, NOW WE ARE PAYING THE PRICE

@RawaneOsmane, a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs and a Middle East analyst, told at the @Jerusalem_Post Conference in New York that both the West and Israel failed to take jihadist ideology seriously enough. According to her, many chose to ignore the repeated declarations of terrorist organizations and extremist regimes, despite their consistent statements about their goals. “When they say they want to destroy Israel, they truly mean it,” she stressed.

Osman, whose father is Syrian and mother is Lebanese, and who grew up in a Hezbollah-supporting environment, argues that the October 7 massacre was a direct result of years of ignoring extremist ideology. “The problem is not only terrorism itself, but the unwillingness to believe what jihadists openly say,” she explained. “Their actions prove that they operate exactly according to the ideology they publicly proclaim.”

[Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs @jerusalemcenter]

Lebanon Expert: “Without Weakening Hezbollah, There Will Be No Agreement — Only a New Security Zone”

Col. (res.) Dr. Jacques Neriah, a former senior Israeli Military Intelligence official and senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, warned that a ceasefire at the current stage would not serve Israel’s interests and could lead to a revival of the former security zone model in Lebanon. According to him, Hezbollah is an integral part of Iran’s power structure, commanded by Iranian officers and operating under directives from Tehran. “We are not fighting a Lebanese militia, but an Iranian arm operating on Lebanese soil,” he said.

Neriah argues that as long as Hezbollah is not significantly weakened, no genuine security arrangement can be achieved. In his view, the Lebanese government is too weak to enforce decisions against the organization, and ongoing diplomatic talks are unlikely to produce a breakthrough. At the same time, he points to early signs of pressure emerging within Lebanon’s Shiite community as a result of mass displacement and destruction in southern Lebanon. “For the first time, criticism is being voiced from within the Shiite community about the price Hezbollah is imposing on Lebanon. This is a development that deserves close attention,” he said.

[Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs @jerusalemcenter]

Read the full article >> https://t.co/ZkKBfvxVgS

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The U.N. Places Israel on the Same Blacklist as Hamas and ISIS

Dr. Fiamma Nirenstein, Senior Fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs and Special Advisor to Israel’s Foreign Ministry on combating antisemitism, sharply criticizes the United Nations’ decision to place Israel on a blacklist alongside Hamas and ISIS over allegations of conflict-related sexual violence. According to her, the move represents “a new moral low” and the latest stage in a long campaign to delegitimize the Jewish state. “The U.N. is creating a false equivalence between the State of Israel and murderous terrorist organizations,” she argues.

Nirenstein notes that Hamas systematically used rape and sexual violence as weapons during the October 7 massacre, while in Israel, any allegation of such misconduct is investigated under civilian and military law. She warns that the international organization is “poisoning the world with a colossal lie” by placing Israel in the same category as Hamas and ISIS, and by promoting a narrative that equates the Jewish state with its terrorist enemies.

[Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs @jerusalemcenter]

Read the full article >> https://t.co/t3H1t7EBZS

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44 Years Later: The IDF Returns to Beaufort Deep Inside Lebanon

Col. (res.) Dr. Jacques Neriah, Senior Research Fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, notes that the capture of the Beaufort Ridge marks the deepest Israeli ground incursion into Lebanon since 2000. According to him, Israeli forces crossed the Litani River and advanced to within approximately 3 miles of Nabatieh, one of Hezbollah’s main strongholds in southern Lebanon. The IDF stated that the operation is focused on securing the Beaufort Ridge and the Wadi al-Saluki area while destroying significant terrorist infrastructure built under Iranian guidance.

Neriah emphasizes that the move carries strategic significance far beyond the immediate tactical achievement. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel had returned to Beaufort “united, determined, and stronger than ever,” while Defense Minister Israel Katz described the ridge as one of the most important positions for defending Israel’s northern communities. Meanwhile, France has already called for an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting in response to Israel’s expanded military operations in Lebanon.

[Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs @jerusalemcenter]

👉 Read the full article >> https://t.co/HJDY5CUKMs

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Marwan Barghouti Is Not Mandela, And He Is Not a Symbol of Peace

In a new article, JCFA researcher and activist @RawaneOsmane argues that the international campaign to free Marwan Barghouti is built on a dangerous historical distortion. While supporters portray him as the “Palestinian Nelson Mandela,” Osman notes that Barghouti was convicted of multiple murders and is widely associated with the violence of the Second Intifada. “Comparing him to Mandela does not elevate Barghouti, it diminishes Mandela,” she writes.

Osman contends that turning Barghouti into a global icon reinforces a political culture that glorifies resistance and militancy over institution-building, economic development, and good governance. Rather than advancing a future based on compromise and state-building, she argues, the campaign perpetuates old myths and rewards a leadership model rooted in confrontation. “Freeing Barghouti would not break the cycle, it would consecrate it,” she warns.

[Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs @jerusalemcenter]

Watch the full interview >> https://t.co/wUCbmpMts7

[Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs @jerusalemcenter]

The Capture of Beaufort: An Important Tactical Achievement, But Not a Decisive Victory

Yoni Ben Menachem @BwMnhm, a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA), describes on @c14israel the IDF’s capture of the Beaufort Castle as a significant military achievement and a blow to Hezbollah, particularly to the forces responsible for launching rockets and drones from southern Lebanon. According to him, it is a “very important tactical achievement” that demonstrates the capabilities of Israeli soldiers and commanders on the ground, as well as the damage inflicted on the organization.

However, Ben Menachem emphasizes that despite the operational and symbolic importance of the move, it does not solve the broader strategic challenge posed by Hezbollah. He notes that the organization continues to benefit from Iranian support, maintains infrastructure throughout Lebanon, and wages a war of attrition against Israel through drones and rocket attacks. “It is an important tactical achievement, but it does not solve the problem we have in Lebanon,” he says.