RonHalber

CEO of the JCRC of Greater Washington. RT does not equal endorsement. Opinions are personal.

[Ambassador Michael Herzog @AmbHerzog]

Here’s my take on whether j-street is pro-Israel 🇮🇱

To me, to be pro-Israel is to draw a clear line between criticizing Israeli government policies - and supporting anti-Israel agendas and libels de-legitimizing the State of Israel.

To be pro-Israel is to go from pronouncing support for Israel’s right to exist (thank you for the generosity…), to supporting the provision of the means critical to defending that very existence.

To be pro-Israel is to listen to Israelis; In our vibrant democracy, most Israelis share the view that j-street doesn’t qualify as pro-Israel.

[John Spencer @SpencerGuard]

Absurd Claims of Dog Rape and Genocide. I see a correlation between those who believe absurd claims like dogs were trained to rape Palestinians and those who believe and insist Israel committed genocide in Gaza.

Both claims collapse under scrutiny and mountains of contrary evidence. One ignores basic physiology and science, including the reality that dogs cannot rape humans in the way being alleged. The other disregards the legal definition of genocide, which requires intent to destroy a people, alongside repeated public statements by Israeli political and military leaders after October 7 that the war was against Hamas, not the people of Gaza. It also requires evidence of actions taken to fulfill that intent, yet accusers dismiss Israel’s documented actions to mitigate civilian harm, facilitate aid, move civilians from combat zones, and even vaccinate Gaza’s population during active war under conditions no military has ever faced. It further ignores that even critics of Israel’s campaign have acknowledged civilian-to-combatant casualty ratios that are historically low for dense urban warfare against an entrenched enemy purposely embedded among civilians.

What connects these beliefs is not evidence, but a double standard in how definitions, laws, reason, science, and even common sense are applied. Facts that would invalidate the accusation are dismissed because the conclusion comes first: Israelis are uniquely evil. And that demonization rarely stops with Israelis alone. It often extends to Jews broadly, regardless of any personal connection to the conflict. I see this less as a dispute over evidence and more as an effort to delegitimize Israel’s existence through accusations that do not withstand logical, factual, or legal scrutiny.

[RonHalber @rhalber]

@BarakRavid It is one thing to be against the war: that’s an opinion. But to accuse Israel or Jews of dragging the US into the war or controlling the President, is dangerous, inflammatory and outright antisemitic.

[RonHalber @rhalber]

@BarakRavid Barak Ravid should not need to defend himself against this mindless trash. I encourage all the decent people on this thread condemning this nonsense to urge their friends to do so as well.

[RonHalber @rhalber]

@BarakRavid The false, moronic, conspiratorial, hate filled antisemitic comments hurled at Barak are disgusting. He is a distinguished, widely admired journalist. His analysis is comprehensive, insightful and balanced. And he often disagrees with the Israeli government.

[RonHalber @rhalber]

@HadyAmr @BarakRavid This is pure antisemitism and Jewish hatred garbage. Barak Ravid is the best reporter covering the Middle East.

[Hady Amr @HadyAmr]

This is disgusting. Yes--strongly criticize Netanyahu, his racist government and their inhumane attacks on Gaza/South Lebanon, and the Trump/Israel awful war on Iran. But resurrecting ancient tropes to attack an award-winning journalist for reporting the news is just plain wrong.

[John Spencer @SpencerGuard]

The goal of the negotiation in Iran should not be an end to fighting for its own sake. It should be a better peace.

History shows that wars that end without resolving the underlying drivers do not really end. They just produce the conditions for the next round of fighting.

A better peace here is not hard to define. It means an Islamic Regime in Iran that is not on the threshold of a nuclear weapon. It means a regime that cannot use control of international waterways as a tool of coercion. It means a regime that is not building missiles capable of reaching Europe or the United States, missiles to attack its neighbors or to shield its nuclear weapons pursuit. And it means a regime that is no longer funding, building, and sustaining proxy terror armies in Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, and Iraq.

If those conditions are not met, then whatever agreement comes out of negotiations is temporary.

Many people only focus on stopping the fighting. That is not the same as achieving the purpose of the war. The real measure is whether Iran’s behavior changes when the war is over.

If the capabilities remain, the intent will follow. And if both remain, the conflict will start again later.

Ending the war is not the objective. Ending it on terms that will hold is.

[Mark Dubowitz @mdubowitz]

Strange. We were reliably informed by thousands of X commentators, pundits, and journalists that CENTCOM had somehow never considered a plan for clearing Hormuz.

Turns out military planners may have thought about it before X did 🤔

[יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog @Isaac_Herzog]

I just called the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, to express my great sorrow over this morning's unfortunate incident in the Old City of Jerusalem, in which Cardinal Pizzaballa and the Custos of the Holy Land, the Most Reverend Fr. Francesco Ielpo, were prevented from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for prayers amid the ongoing security situation.

I clarified that the incident stemmed from security concerns due to the continuous threat of missile attacks from the Iranian terror regime against the civilian population in Israel, following previous incidents in which Iranian missiles fell in the area of the Old City of Jerusalem in recent days.

I reaffirmed the State of Israel's unwavering commitment to freedom of religion for all faiths and to upholding the status quo at the holy sites of Jerusalem.

[RonHalber @rhalber]

@Sam_Rasoul Do you ever tire of posting your unhinged, baseless antisemitic rants ? Perhaps as a state official you should spend your time focusing on representing and delivering results for your constituents, instead of opining on foreign policy which you apparently know little about.

[Mark Dubowitz @mdubowitz]

Many on the left — and even on the right — would rather see US & Israeli forces fail against the IRGC if it meant hurting Trump or Netanyahu.

That’s how toxic our politics have become.

I opposed Obama’s foreign policy. But I never rooted against my own commander-in-chief.

[RonHalber @rhalber]

https://t.co/tCvZ3BLYFJ

[Barak Ravid @BarakRavid]

טראמפ: ישראל לא כופפה לי את היד כדי שאתקוף באיראן. אולי אני זה שכופף להם את היד

[Mark Dubowitz @mdubowitz]

Poll panic is overblown.

In the next few years, Israel — with Trump’s backing — will:

1. Cripple Iran’s capabilities, accelerating the regime’s demise.
2. Lock in a next-gen U.S.–Israel strategic pact — AI, missile defense, cyber, space — making the alliance indispensable.
3. Set the gold standard for model partner burden sharing — fighting, innovating, and deterring on the front lines.
4. Build a more self-reliant defense industrial base, reducing exposure to U.S. political swings.
5. Expand ties with India, the UAE, Greece, Cyprus, Japan, Singapore, Argentina, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Somaliland and beyond — while opening doors to Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and other Muslim states.
6. Elect a more centrist government capable of rebuilding bipartisan support in Washington.
7. Deepen integration with CENTCOM partners, turning air defense and intelligence-sharing into a regional security architecture.
8. Dominate emerging military tech — AI-targeting, autonomous systems, quantum, layered missile defense — widening the qualitative edge.
9. Leverage energy, water, cyber, AI, healthtech innovation diplomacy, strengthening European, Middle Eastern, Asian, African and Latin American need for Israeli resources.
10. Reassert bipartisan congressional support as results on deterrence and normalization speak louder than campus slogans.

The pessimists are front-running a story that hasn’t been written yet.

[Barak Ravid @BarakRavid]

BREAKING: The remains of the last Israeli hostage that was held in Gaza were recovered by the IDF and brought back to Israel, the IDF says

[Dennis Ross @AmbDennisRoss]

Iran’s regime may survive for now but not over time. It has no answers for its failures in basic governance: provision of water, electricity, a currency that has value even as it continues to squander its resources on a failed proxy network. In time, the elite will fracture.

[Barak Ravid @BarakRavid]

🚨ברייקינג: הנשיא טראמפ אמר לי בראיון טלפוני היום כי המשא ומתן על תוכניתו לסיום המלחמה בעזה נמצא ״בשלביו הסופיים״ וכי עסקה תפתח את הדלת לשלום רחב יותר במזרח התיכון

[Buki בוקי @Buki_YGV]

Very interesting

[יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog @Isaac_Herzog]

I welcome the major steps announced by the Israeli leadership and military to strengthen and upgrade the humanitarian response in Gaza — particularly the decision to implement humanitarian pauses to protect civilian lives and allow the safe delivery of aid.

In coordination with international partners, Israel is doing its utmost to improve the flow of vital supplies through designated corridors, airdrops, and expanded humanitarian zones.

I call on UN agencies and international organizations working with @COGATonline to do their part and ensure that aid reaches those in need without delay — as Israel has demanded for some time. It is unacceptable that aid delivered to Gaza remains undistributed or is hijacked by Hamas, even as they falsely accuse Israel of blocking it.

The world must stand firm against terror — and work relentlessly to bring all our hostages home immediately.