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. โAbandoning historical truth means abandoning national rights,โ he concludes.
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 Iranโs ballistic missile arsenal and its ability to produce new missiles, marking the most significant setback to Iranโs 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.
๐ Read the full edition >> https://t.co/pcA9BlM8Kz
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.
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 Iranโs 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 Gazaโs future.
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. โWhen they say they want to destroy Israel, they truly mean it,โ 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. โThe problem is not only terrorism itself, but the unwillingness to believe what jihadists openly say,โ she explained. โTheir actions prove that they operate exactly according to the ideology they publicly proclaim.โ
Lebanon Expert: โWithout Weakening Hezbollah, There Will Be No Agreement โ Only a New Security Zoneโ
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 Israelโs interests and could lead to a revival of the former security zone model in Lebanon. According to him, Hezbollah is an integral part of Iranโs power structure, commanded by Iranian officers and operating under directives from Tehran. โWe are not fighting a Lebanese militia, but an Iranian arm operating on Lebanese soil,โ 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 Lebanonโs Shiite community as a result of mass displacement and destruction in southern Lebanon. โFor 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,โ he said.
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 Israelโs Foreign Ministry on combating antisemitism, sharply criticizes the United Nationsโ decision to place Israel on a blacklist alongside Hamas and ISIS over allegations of conflict-related sexual violence. According to her, the move represents โa new moral lowโ and the latest stage in a long campaign to delegitimize the Jewish state. โThe U.N. is creating a false equivalence between the State of Israel and murderous terrorist organizations,โ 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 โpoisoning the world with a colossal lieโ 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.
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 Hezbollahโs 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 โunited, determined, and stronger than ever,โ while Defense Minister Israel Katz described the ridge as one of the most important positions for defending Israelโs northern communities. Meanwhile, France has already called for an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting in response to Israelโs expanded military operations in Lebanon.
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 โPalestinian Nelson Mandela,โ Osman notes that Barghouti was convicted of multiple murders and is widely associated with the violence of the Second Intifada. โComparing him to Mandela does not elevate Barghouti, it diminishes Mandela,โ 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. โFreeing Barghouti would not break the cycle, it would consecrate it,โ she warns.
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 IDFโs 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 โvery important tactical achievementโ 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. โIt is an important tactical achievement, but it does not solve the problem we have in Lebanon,โ he says.