Desire for the Real Path of Zionism
Reut Ben Kamon was in third grade when her family was uprooted from the Neve Dekalim settlement during the 2005 disengagement from Gaza. The scenes of soldiers clashing with residents left her traumatized, she said. Yet she waxes nostalgic about life before the evacuation, describing the sand dunes she and her friends would roll down behind her home, the fresh air, the blossoms and the diverse mix of Jews who were her neighbors.
Two decades later, Ben Kamon joined several other families who braved an unseasonal bout of rain to spend the Passover seder in tents near Kibbutz Sa’ad in the Gaza envelope, as a symbolic act calling for the Jewish return to Gaza. Organized by the Nachala Israel Movement to promote new Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and the resettlement of Gaza — the encampment featured repurposed sukkahs, bouncy castles and a full lineup of speakers, children’s activities and tours. Thousands of Israelis visited over the intermediate days of the holiday.
“People call asking if they can invest in [Gaza] apartments for their children,” Nachala activist Batel Moshe said. Weiss pointed to a surge in participation in the group’s activities since the war – including tens of thousands at a recent rally – as evidence of strong public support for its goals.
“Most Israelis are in favor of resettling Gaza, if not immediately, than after an Israeli victory against Hamas,” Nachala founder Daniella Weiss said. “This is the real path of Zionism.” Somehow, if Daniella wills it, it is no dream!
You Can’t Build Peace on False History
The name “West Bank” conjures up visions of a complex and contentious region of the Middle East. and there’s increasing discussion of the label itself. The time has come to return to the true, historical, biblical names of Judea and Samaria—names that reflect the deep, millennia-old connection between the Jewish people and their ancestral homeland.
Last month, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Brian Mast instructed committee staff to refer to the area as Judea and Samaria in official documents and communications. He said Congress should “recognize Israel’s rightful claim to the cradle of Jewish civilization.” And he’s right.
The region has been called Judea and Samaria since Joshua led the Israelites. Judea was the ancient kingdom of the Jews, a central part of Jewish history and identity. King David was born there. As was Jesus. Samaria was also an integral region of ancient Israel. These names are not merely geographic terms; they carry cultural, historical and religious weight.
On the other hand, the term “West Bank” was invented in the 20th century. It’s an artificial construct, coined to describe the western bank of the Jordan River after Jordan attacked Israel in the 1948 War of Independence and annexed the area in 1950. It was part of an intentional effort to redefine the region in terms that were disconnected from Jewish identity, furthering the narrative that the land was devoid of historical Jewish presence.
But Judea and Judaism are inextricably linked.
The name “West Bank” has long been a tool of political manipulation designed to sever the bond between the Jewish people and the land. It is time to turn the page and restore the names of Judea and Samaria, the heart of the Jewish homeland. Let us honor the past and ensure a future where peace can be built on a foundation of truth.
Source:
What’s in a name?, by Heather Johnston/JNS, April 8, 2025
Iran Was the Focus of That Recent Visit – More Than Reported
The Prime Minister’s Office responded on Thursday to a report by The New York Times that US President Donald Trump stopped an Israeli plan to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu has been leading the global campaign against the Iranian nuclear program for over a decade, even when there were those who belittled the threat and called it a ‘political spin’ and the Prime Minister ‘paranoid.’ The Prime Minister led countless overt and covert actions in the campaign against Iran’s nuclear program; thanks to them, Iran does not have a nuclear arsenal,” the Prime Minister’s Office wrote in a statement.
Despite Israel’s military buildup and plans for a prepared strike on Iran, high-level voices within the Trump administration expressed growing skepticism about the feasibility and consequences of an Israeli-led attack. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard presented intelligence suggesting such an operation could spiral into a broader regional war, an outcome the White House was determined to avoid.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has declared more than once: “Israel will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.” As of now, Washington’s position remains unchanged: negotiations first, military action only if talks collapse.
We knew there was a deeper reason for Netanyahu’s last minute visit with President Trump last week. Let’s watch closely how this plays out.
Source:
Netanyahu does not deny that Trump nixed strike on Iran, by Israel National News, April 17, 2025
A Complete Move for Huckabee
US Ambassador-designate Mike Huckabee arrived in Israel on Thursday and will officially take up his position in Jerusalem next week.
The former Arkansas governor landed in Israel toward the end of the week-long Passover holiday and ahead of Easter Sunday after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate last week. He will present his credentials to Israel President Isaac Herzog on Monday at an official ceremony in Jerusalem.
“We are on our way to Israel,” Huckabee tweeted on Wednesday, ahead of the transatlantic flight with his wife Janet and their two dogs. “Our dogs have no idea how long this flight is going to be so don’t tell them. This is not a trip but a complete move.”
AFSI congratulates US Ambassador-Designate Mike Huckabee on his appointment. As a life-long staunch supporter of Israel, we have no doubt he will continue to advocate for the truth and strengthen Israel at this critical time in the Jewish Nation State’s history.
Source:
Huckabee arrives in Israel to take up ambassadorial posting, by Etgar Lefkovits/JNS, April 17, 2025
No Tears Here – Hamas in Financial Crisis
Hamas faces a severe financial setback as it lacks cash to pay its members, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing Arab intelligence officials.
Israel’s discontinuing of humanitarian aid, which Hamas pilfered for monetary gains, and the IDF strikes targeting Hamas officials responsible for distributing funds have contributed to this trend, according to the officials.
Hamas also exploited the humanitarian aid to increase the flow of money, such as taxing merchants, collecting taxes, and using foreign cash to buy humanitarian aid, which was then sold in Gaza for a profit, according to Western, Israeli, and Arab officials, detailing the terror group’s financial web.
Funding is what has kept Hamas in business – the business of working toward its goal of destroying Israel. What a great day it will be to look forward to the time when the phrase “follow the money” no longer applies to Hamas. We trust that day will be very soon.
Netanyahu Says No Prize for Terrorism
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on the phone with French President Emmanuel Macron following the latter’s announcement that he intends to recognize a Palestinian state and a meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to discuss said recognition.
The Prime Minister’s Office wrote in a statement that “during the conversation, the Prime Minister expressed fierce opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state and said that this would constitute a huge prize for terrorism.”
The statement added: “The Prime Minister pointed out to the President of France that to this day, no Palestinian body – including those of the Palestinian Authority – has condemned the October 7th massacre; and that in the Palestinian Authority, the children are educated to destroy Israel, and the murderers of Jews are awarded monetary prizes.
“The Prime Minister told the President of France that a Palestinian state that would be established just a few minutes from Israeli cities would become an Iranian stronghold of terrorism; that the vast majority of the Israeli public opposes that categorically – and that this has also been the Prime Minister’s consistent and longstanding policy.”
France’s position may be good for Macron but is wrong for Israel. Even after the October 7 massacre in Israel Macron still lives in a world of delusion and self-serving political ideals. He has no understanding of, or concern for the true intention of the mental state of the PA Arabs – that is, to kill Jews and destroy Israel.
Harvard’s Entitlement Comes to an End
The Trump administration has halted approximately $2.3 billion in federal funding allocated to Harvard University following the school’s refusal to comply with directives from the White House targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, Reuters reported.
According to an announcement on Monday from the US Department of Education, the decision encompasses a freeze on $2.2 billion in grant money, as well as $60 million in federal contracts previously designated for the Ivy League institution.
“Harvard’s statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation’s most prestigious universities and colleges—that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws,” stated the department’s task force on combating antisemitism,” announced the US Department of Education.
While Harvard has not issued a detailed public response to the funding suspension, the dispute marks a significant escalation in tensions between the federal government and elite universities over the direction and governance of campus policies related to diversity and civil rights compliance.
Now, with no government funding, and Harvard stating no government should dictate to it what it can teach and who it can admit and hire, it will be interesting to see what lessons, if any, they learn from this. Will this storied Ivy League institution now become a haven for anti-Semitism and other forms of hatred? So far, they haven’t passed the test of understanding the fine line between free speech and hate.
Of Course They Talked About Iran
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu concluded his diplomatic visit to Washington and made a statement before boarding his flight back to Israel.
In his statement, he said, “I am now completing my second visit to the US in two months. This was a very warm visit with my friend President Donald Trump. You could feel the great closeness and friendship between us, and it was expressed in the topics we discussed.”
The main topic of the talks was Iran: “We agree that Iran will not have nuclear weapons. This can be done by agreement, but only if that agreement is a Libyan-style agreement. When you come in, you blow up the facilities, dismantle all the equipment, under US supervision and with US implementation – that’s good. The second possibility is that it won’t be. Let them just drag out the talks, and then the option is military. Everyone understands this. We discussed this at length.”
Netanyahu’s visit comes just days after the Trump administration announced global tariffs that will affect nearly every U.S. trading partner, including Israel. The Prime Minister’s trip to DC was suddenly added to his travel schedule. We are hard pressed to believe that discussion of tariffs was the catalyst for this last minute visit. Once it was learned that Netanyahu was going to DC to meet with President Trump, rumors immediately began to swirl that the real purpose of his visit was to discuss the growing threat of Iran. Given that Netanyahu stated Iran was the main topic of the talks with President Trump and that it was discussed “at length” kind of says it all.
Will Iran Agree to a New Deal?
The deal the Trump Administration is attempting to reach with the Iranian government on Iran’s nuclear program would allow Iran to maintain a civilian nuclear program, i24NEWS reported Tuesday evening, citing a source familiar with the talks.
“Iran will be able to maintain a civilian nuclear program for electricity production, such as the reactor in Bushehr, even if it has to completely dismantle its nuclear [weapons] program,” the source stated.
The source added, “Trump said that Iran will not have nuclear weapons, military nuclear facilities no, but civilian nuclear yes. Therefore, even if the facilities that contain the centrifuges and enable uranium enrichment have to be destroyed, Iran will be able to retain a civilian nuclear program.”
On Monday, US President Donald Trump stated during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US will begin “direct talks” with Iran on Iran’s nuclear weapons program this weekend.
Whether or not Iran agrees to this new proposal will surely reveal what their true intentions are regarding their nuclear capabilities.
Source:
Report: US will allow Iran to keep civilian nuclear program, by Israel National News, April 8, 2025
Increased Defense Op Pays Off for Judea and Samaria
The amount of terror attacks committed during this year’s Islamic festival of Ramadan was down 80% compared to last year.
Typically, Israel has seen an increase in terror attacks during the month-long holiday. In 2024, there were 54 attacks, compared to just three this year.
In a joint statement released by the Israel Defense Forces and security organization Shin Bet, credit was attributed to the increase of anti-terror operations in Judea and Samaria.
The announcement outlined: “During the month of Ramadan, the IDF, Shin Bet, and Border Police operated throughout the Central Command area to thwart terrorism while strengthening defensive efforts.
“As part of these operations, 401 wanted individuals were arrested, 13 terrorists were eliminated, and 105 weapons were confiscated.
“During last year’s Ramadan, 27 significant terrorist attacks originated from Judea and Samaria—22 in the Samaria region and five in the Judea region.
“Security forces continue to work to prevent terrorism throughout Judea and Samaria in order to maintain the security of Israeli citizens,” said Police Commissioner Dani Levi.
Source:
Significant Decrease in 2025 Ramadan Terror Attacks, by Crystal Jones/TPS, April 2, 2025